Empowering Women With Tech

The role that the financial empowerment of women plays in improving the socio-economic conditions and gender-equality index cannot be disputed. Pakistan has, in the past, not been ranked as a country which utilizes the potential of its female citizens despite our founding fathers repeatedly emphasizing that women must be empowered and stand side by side with men.

The Women Economic Empowerment Group (WEEG) is one such initiative that the government is embarking upon to increase the participation of women in the economy. The WEEG focuses on a relatively new but a burgeoning field – e-commerce. The WEEG will have dedicated incentives for women entrepreneurs, providing them with e-commerce platforms and promoting digital businesses in the country.

The government has identified a good sector to invest in. E-commerce platforms are suitable for women since they are easier to adjust from a work-from-home environment, a factor which will allow greater participation of women. Secondly, COVID-19 and the lockdown has provided an environment that is ideal for the growth of the e-commerce platforms. The government’s reduction of taxes for online platforms in the budget also makes conditions ripe for growth for this particular industry. Businesses can also adopt scalable models, with the potential to generate massive revenues and create plenty of opportunities for employment.