Enhancing Women’s Economic Participation in Pakistan Through Capacity Building

Kaizen reviewed the 2007 SME policy’s mandate and goals, identified strengths and weaknesses, and provided recommendations on policy formulation and implementation. Kaizen also provided recommendations related to the business environment; access to finance, resources, and services; entrepreneurship development; defining SMEs; and monitoring and evaluation related to SMEs. To increase women’s economic participation, Kaizen developed solutions to build the capacity of associations, chambers, and higher educational institutions. Kaizen organized and led workshops on women’s association development and sustainability, addressing recruiting, retaining, and growing the membership base and creating effective analysis tools and a comprehensive communications strategy. The goal was to develop baseline data on professional women and entrepreneurs as well as mechanisms to allow women to access higher-level resources and economic opportunities. To strengthen the private sector, Kaizen developed a network to support professionals in select sectors and enhance the regional and global competitiveness of Pakistani companies. The sector-support network included virtual aspects, such as an interactive web portal, and live events that enabled professionals to convene in person, learn about valuable tools, discuss emerging practices, and hear from local and international experts.

Kaizen’s initiatives in the Pakistan Firms Project significantly improved the enabling environment for SMEs in Pakistan, ultimately contributing to Pakistan’s economic growth and development.