Market scoping exercises involving female entrepreneurs revealed that unfavourable business and regulatory environments, coupled with societal and cultural barriers, lack of networks, knowledge and links to high-value markets impeded access to finance for women-led and managed businesses. While this was a problem for SMEs in general, it was disproportionately impacting women in Pakistan. Recognizing that financial institutions were reluctant to develop a sustainable strategy to address this significant market gap, Karandaaz launched its own program to help serve women-owned businesses. Karandaaz Women Entrepreneurship Challenge (WEC) has evolved into Women Ventures. Women Ventures (WV) is an institutionalized and scaled-up approach to supporting women-led businesses in Pakistan. WV will be accepting applications on a rolling basis throughout the year, from high growth, scalable, women-led enterprises seeking growth capital. All applications received will be reviewed on the 15th of every month by the WV Investment Committee. To maximize chances of success for women entrepreneurs, Karandaaz will also be providing business development support to selected businesses. For information and to apply please visit: https://wv.karandaaz.
