foundation for sustainable growth in Pakistan

Speaker panel at the report at Allen & Overy in London: (left to right) Dylan Matthews, Senior Associate, Allen & Overy; Dr Iman Bibars, Regional Director, Ashoka Arab World; Suniya Qureshi, Executive Director, British Pakistan Foundation; Priya Shah, Consultant and Lead Author, EPG; Ali Akbar, Pakistan Country Director, Hashoo Foundation.

LONDON – i-genius and The Economic Policy Group (EPG) launched a report entitled Social Enterprise in Pakistan: Unlocking Innovation Through Enterprise Incubation. The report says business schools in Pakistan can offer huge growth potential in delivering hybrid financial return and social impact to investors, and help create a sustainable ecosystem for social entrepreneurs in Pakistan.

The breakthrough report, written by Priya Shah and Shailabh Shubhisham, provides a macro perspective for the first time to the business education sector in Pakistan. It explores how incubator hubs can harness the potential of young entrepreneurs.  It sets out the potential for the education and business sectors in Pakistan to step forward and create a “social innovation coalition” framework in which social enterprises are nurtured and given support to succeed.

The report also examines how both public and private sectors in Pakistan can maximise the opportunities in the nascent social enterprise sector. It promotes innovative social businesses as effective means to address skills shortage, employment and vocational training issues in the business education sector.

Priya Shah said: “We studied a comparative Indian business school case study using value chain analysis to help demonstrate how research and development, infrastructure and policy frameworks can be used to change the macroeconomic environment.”  Managing Director of EPG, Pratik Dattani added: “By creating an ecosystem where social entrepreneurs thrive, Pakistan’s policy makers can address community needs, and investors can achieve financial returns.”

At the launch event last week Thursday attended by over 100 policy makers, social entrepreneurs, educational heads and investors, Asif Rangoonwala, Chairman of the British Pakistan Foundation added, “Many people are waking up to the potential in Pakistan. This is a very important report because it provides a clear and practical route to how various parts of Pakistani society can be brought together to help generate change.”

i-genius is using the report as a basis for its trade tour to Pakistan later this year which will connect social entrepreneurs in Pakistan with those from other countries. i-genius’ Founder, Tommy Hutchinson, who opened  this morning’s briefing said, “Business schools can play a unique role in laying the foundation for sustainable growth in Pakistan. The report illustrates how the incubation of social enterprises can enable them and all stakeholders to discover on a step-by-step basis what works, and what does not.”