Selar.WE: Serving women entrepreneurs

Be prepared for unanticipated problems if you
e a woman and plan to set up your own business in Pakistan. In a country where business norms and unofficial formalities and expenditures may drive even the most fearless man up against the wall, striking it out as a female is, indeed, formidable.
A unique business advisory for women entrepreneurs, Selar.WE, was recently launched by Selar Enterprises to assist struggling women entrepreneurs of Pakistan. While many women in the country may have effective business ideas up their sleeves, turning them into viable running businesses requires more expertise and tricks of the trade.
The idea of the business advisory was pioneered at a round table discussion in conjunction with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) where women entrepreneurs identified a common need for counseling services to help kick start their ideas. Being already involved in business consultancy in general, the concept of Selar.WE was not a difficult one to initiate for Selar Enterprises, the CEO of which is also a woman - Sadia Khan.
Khan laments that the business atmosphere in the country is not geared towards assisting women entrepreneurs. Banking and financial products are not designed to help businesswomen have easy access to finances, and sound consultation services were unheard of.
"Women entrepreneurs today constitute over 20 percent of the medium to small enterprises sector in Pakistan. Yet few have access to formalised training, business advisory or financial services to enable them to expand their original concepts into marketable products," said Khan.
As for the business models that usually see a woman spearheading the operations and decision-making, Khan claims that service-based businesses are more a forte of women than manufacturing-based. These vary from clothes designing and salon services, to bakeries and catering services offered by several women.
The main motive for many women to strike out on their own is a desire for independently running their own show, and channelise their skills as effectively as possible.
Its heartening to see that Pakistans business landscape is adapting to the idea of working women, albeit gradually. Consequently, initiatives such as microfinance for women, women-oriented trade exhibitions, NGOs supporting women employment, etc, are establishing strong grounds.
The dilemma for women entrepreneurs in the country doesn only have to do with tedious laws and extensive regulations; more so, perceptions and social stigmas that assign a more subservient role to women in Pakistan are probably the real battle for the fairer sex.
However, with a strong will and ancillary support from consultancies such as Selar.WE, women are en route to making a mark in the country for themselves.