The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) participated in the 2017 Women Entrepreneurship Conference (WECON) to spread awareness among women entrepreneurs through its investor awareness programme 'Jamapunji'. The event took place at the Higher Education Commission's auditorium, and was attended by entrepreneurship ecosystem builders, incubators, accelerators, government bodies as well as fresh start ups.
The daylong event was divided into three segments aptly titled Create, Cultivate and Celebrate and panel discussions were conducted under each of these themes to educate and engage attending young female entrepreneurs and female students aspiring to build their start ups.
The first panel discussion under the title 'Create' focused on the challenges, opportunities and way forward to build a stable, scalable and sustainable ecosystem that helps women led businesses succeed in our particular environment. The panellists included Dr Arshad Ali, Executive Director, HEC, Ms Khalida Habib, Director/HoD Investor Education and International Relations, SECP, Ms Shahnaz Kapadia, Founder Mera Maan, Ms Ayesha Hamid, President, OPEN, Lahore, Yusuf Hussain, CEO, ICT R&D Fund, Shahina Waheed, Program Manager, UNIDO, Ms Huma Mustafa Baig, Founder Ministry of Change, and Murtaza Zaidi, Executive Director, TiE Islamabad.
Among other relevant issues, during the session the SECP panellist spoke of the various measures being taken by the SECP to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country, ranging from infrastructure to financial access and in creation of an environment where businesses operate on a level playing field, where their rights are protected, and the same rules apply to all. Interactive discussion on topics such as the SECP's commitment to enabling small start ups to establish as credible businesses by opting the corporate setup and to have the opportunity to expand themselves. Other measures taken to encourage small businesses such as the introduction of the small and medium enterprises (SME) Board on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) for raising capital through IPOs was also discussed. Questions and suggestions were welcomed from the audience. Participants showed great appreciation for information shared by the SECP and lauded its efforts in supporting entrepreneurs and female entrepreneurs in particular by participating in such events.
The event is the third in the series under the SECP's Jamapunji banner that aimed at women entrepreneurs and potential investors, since the start of this year. The SECP vows to remain committed to supporting such initiatives in the future.-PR
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