ISLAMABAD – New businesses seeking to address social problems in Pakistanhave made the South Asian nation one of the best performers in the secondglobal poll on social entrepreneurs.
Pakistan advanced 18 spots to 14th among the world’s 45 biggest economies,seen as a nation where social entrepreneurs can make a living and attractgood staff.
According to a special report by Reuterslink,Pakistan was one of the three countries, along with Australia and theNetherlands, whose overall ranking improved the most since the firstThomson Reuters Foundation experts’ poll on the best countries for socialentrepreneurs in 2016.Pakistan was one of the three countries, along with Australia and theNetherlands, whose overall ranking improved the most since the firstThomson Reuters Foundation.
“The landscape has changed tremendously in terms of openness andreceptivity for entrepreneurship,” said Shaista Ayesha, who heads productdevelopment at SEED Ventures, a business incubator based in Karachi.
Almost all universities have business incubation centers that are eitherworking with the public or the private sectors to support home-grownenterprises.
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The report stated that the interest of young people in the sector was seenas spurring growth, with a youth boom giving Pakistan one of the world’syoungest populations, a trend seen continuing until at least 2050,according to the United Nations Development Programme.
About two-thirds of Pakistan’s 210 million people are younger than 30 with29% percent aged between 15 and 29. This new generation of young Pakistanisis not only aware of the political and socio-economic challenges faced bythe country, but has also found social networks to voice opinions, said thereport.
“Social issues no longer go unnoticed, and there is a general increase inpublic eagerness, particularly among the youth, to step up and bringpositive change,” Ayesha said.
