Startup Grind Islamabad and CIRCLE Highlight Women Techpreneurs ahead of She Loves Tech Global Startup Competition
Startup Grind Islamabad and CIRCLE, through its Women and Business Chapter Islamabad, brought the focus on women techpreneurs at a panel discussion and networking event held at the National Incubation Centre (NIC) on Friday, 26th May. Moderated by CIRCLE CEO Sadaffe Abid, the panel included Sihah Waris, Founder of Rise Mom, Maliha Kayani, Co-Founder of Ezpz Sehat, Zoha Fatima, Capital Delight, and Hira Batool Rizvi, founder of SheKab.
Startup Grind is a global platform which is dedicated to educate and inspire entrepreneurs by organizing monthly events within 200 cities of the world.
Startup Grind dedicates the month of May to women entrepreneurs, globally and this event was organised to showcase the many ways women are using tech for entrepreneurship in Pakistan.
CIRCLE, founded by Sadaffe Abid, former COO and CEO of Kashf Foundation, focuses on women’s economic inclusion and leadership development with the mission to build and develop the leadership and entrepreneurial capacity of women in Pakistan. We do this through advocacy, research and innovative capacity building initiatives. CIRCLE is based on the belief that investing in women is the smartest economic venture of today and that when women progress, communities prosper and economies grow.
Speaking about the event, Hassan Zulfiqar, Co-director of Startup Grind Islamabad said,
‘Within Pakistan, we can witness that women are rising and within past couple of years many women entrepreneurs and techpreneurs have proven themselves in international community. Even Forbes has recognized some women entrepreneurs of Pakistan. We should use international platforms like Startup Grind and CIRCLE to share this image of Pakistani women with the world.’
CIRCLE has Women and Business Chapters in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad and provides a platform to women startups, innovators, business owners, professionals and to male supporters and allies, to come together and learn and grow. The network provides mentorship through Cherie Blair Foundation, workshops, dialogue and toolkits as well as opportunities to network and collaborate.
Commenting on CIRCLE’s work, CEO Sadaffe Abid said,
‘Women are the largest untapped potential of Pakistan. Through empowering women entrepreneurs, we can create jobs and solve Pakistan’s social and economic challenges. CIRCLE is creating such a platform and we are delighted to work with our partners across the country and to be bringing She Loves Tech Global Startup Competition to Pakistan.’
Continuing the focus on women and men using tech to create solutions for Pakistan’s problems, CIRCLE is hosting She Loves Tech Pakistan – a Global Start Up Competition happening in 8+ locations with finals in Beijing. The top team from She Loves Tech Pakistan 2017 will receive a spot to pitch at the global finals of the She Loves Tech 2017 Global Startup Competition (September 16, 2017), and the chance to participate in an immersive week-long boot camp (September 11-15, 2017) consisting of talks and panels, visits to leading tech companies, networking opportunities, and personalized pitch preparation workshops. Additionally, Teja Ventures, a venture capital fund with a gender lens, SOSV, #1 in VC seed funding for female-founded startups (TechCrunch), and other affiliate funds of the She Loves Tech global initiative will also be actively looking to invest in women impact startups from the competition.
The competition is open to anyone, male or female, with an idea that uses tech to solve a problem. For male founders, the idea must have an impact on women in some way. The deadline to apply is 23rd June. APPLY NOW: www.shelovestech.org
