A pivotal initiative to bolster women’s entrepreneurship has been significantly scaled up, with the Sindh Higher Education Commission (Sindh HEC) and the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) expanding their SheLeads Women Founders Bootcamp to 64 universities across the province, targeting founders with ready-to-scale business prototypes.
According to HEC report today, building upon a successful pilot program in 2024, the expanded 2025 bootcamp was a strategic alliance between Sindh HEC and IoBM”s Shahjehan Syed Karim Incubation Center (SSKIC). The program offered an immersive, hands-on learning experience designed to help female founders strengthen and grow their commercial ventures.
The curriculum focused on developing crucial leadership and business competencies for the contemporary market. Attendees explored agile leadership, resilience, and purpose-driven management to navigate change effectively. The sessions also covered identifying strategic opportunities, building collaborative networks, and leveraging artificial intelligence and digital tools for accelerated progress.
A core component of the training involved designing, testing, and validating business models to ensure long-term viability. The bootcamp emphasized applying proven strategies for sustainable scaling, preparing the enterprises to be responsible, resilient, and future-ready.
The event drew 28 women founders from prominent institutions such as Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto University of Law, Jinnah University for Women, NED University, Iqra University, and Ziauddin University, among others. The intensive sessions were facilitated by Ms. Ziana Sakhia, CEO of Bechlo.pk, and Mr. Raza Abbas, Head of SSKIC-IoBM.
At the concluding certificate ceremony, Guest of Honor Ms. Memona Shah, Director of Academics at Sindh HEC, praised the innovation and commitment of the participants. She reaffirmed the commission”s dedication to fostering a supportive ecosystem for female business owners. Also in attendance were Dr. Imran Batada, IoBM”s Chief Digital Officer, and Mr. Saleemuddin, Director of Quality Assurance at HEC.
Following the overwhelmingly positive response, top-performing founders from the bootcamp will be shortlisted for SSKIC’s Cohort 5 Incubation Program. This next stage will culminate in a final pitching competition scheduled for December 2025.
The SheLeads initiative directly aligns with the shared commitment of Sindh HEC and IoBM to advance key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure).