The Kaarvan Crafts Foundation in Lahore cultivates economic empowerment and resilience against poverty with 750 home-based workers, including 50 disabled, 35 women from religious minorities and 15 transgender people in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan.
It is estimated that up to 40% of Pakistan’s population – some 87 million people – could end up living below the poverty line due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to devastating lives and livelihoods, the pandemic is exacerbating existing inequalities, with women among the most affected.
In partnership with the British Asian Trust, Kaarvan is working with the Target Foundation to address this crisis by catalyzing the growth of women-led businesses in low-income urban areas of Pakistan.
In order for women workers and women-owned businesses to have better access to vocational training centres, 38 women entrepreneurs from community WOBs are introduced to public and private sector training institutes through formal linking sessions at the TVET institute, Qasimpur, Multan.
Approximately 38 women entrepreneurs from community WOBs have NTNs will be registered with the Federal Bureau of Revenue to become active taxpayers. Mentoring sessions were conducted at the regional office in Multan, where the importance of the national tax number was discussed and entrepreneurs were helped to create their NTNs.
Women entrepreneurs in semi-urban and rural areas of Faisalabad and Sialkot are connected to banks and MFIs to obtain small loans to expand their businesses and thus create new jobs for the female workforce in their areas.
The project aims to reduce the stigma attached to women’s participation in the labor market through skills enhancement, industry engagement and mentorship of 2,100 women entrepreneurs and their supply chain members, while creating 300 new jobs over a 3-year period.
Earlier, in honor of the International Day of the Girl Child, Kaarvan volunteer Zainab had prepared a special poem to highlight the brave and resilient girls of Pakistan.
In honor of the #internationalgirlsday2022October 11, Zainab Hassan, volunteer, prepared a short poem to highlight the courageous and resilient young girls of Pakistan. #Rights #Girls #volunteersmakethedifference #IDG2022 #girlsday #gender equality pic.twitter.com/ncytU7BMpL
— Kaarvan Crafts Foundation (@kaarvancrafts) October 17, 2022
