Youth, women drive spur social business growth in Pakistan, says global poll

KARACHI/LONDON: From turning organic waste into fertilizer to sharing farm equipment, new businesses seeking to address social problems in

Pakistan have made the South Asian nation one of the best performers in the second global poll on social entrepreneurs.

Pakistan was one of the three countries, along with Australia and the Netherlands, whose overall ranking improved the most since the first Thomson Reuters Foundation experts’ poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs in 2016. The country advanced 18 spots to place 14th among the world’s 45 biggest economies, seen as a nation where social entrepreneurs can make a living and attract good staff.

“The landscape has changed tremendously in terms of openness and receptivity for entrepreneurship,”

said Shaista Ayesha, 39, who heads product development at SEED Ventures, a business incubator based in Karachi. “Almost all universities have business incubation centers that are either working with the public or the private sectors to support home-grown enterprises.” Interest of young people in the sector was seen as spurring growth, with a youth boom giving Pakistan one of the world’s youngest populations, a trend seen continuing until at least 2050, according to the United Nations Development Program.

About two-thirds of Pakistan’s 210 million people are younger than 30 with 29% percent aged between 15 and 29. This new generation of young

Pakistanis was not only aware of the political and socio-economic challenges faced by the country, but has also found social networks to voice opinions.

“Social issues no longer go unnoticed, and there is a general increase in public eagerness, particularly among the youth, to step up and bring positive change,” Ayesha said.

As the government struggles to find solutions for a nation affected by poverty, water scarcity, climate change and lack of sanitation, social startups are emerging to fill the gaps. Pakistani banker and economist Ishrat Hussain, adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan for Institutional Reforms and Austerity, said he was not surprised by the poll results. —Reuters