Atif Ikram Sheikh, President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), hosted the inaugural “Home to Hub” initiative at the FPCCI Head Office, Federation House, Karachi.
Sheikh said that the milestone event marked the formal beginning of a structured journey designed to transform Pakistan’s women entrepreneurs from home-based startups into export-ready business leaders.
He highlighted that the ice-breaking event brought together a carefully curated group of established and emerging women entrepreneurs, university students, senior business mentors, and representatives from financial institutions.
FPCCI president thanked the key institutional partners, including the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), and the Pakistan Single Window (PSW), for providing women entrepreneurs with actionable insights into business planning, funding opportunities, and global export facilitation.
SM Tanveer, Patron-in-Chief of UBG, underscored the macroeconomic importance of the Home to Hub initiative. He said that the transition from informal, home-based businesses to structured and scalable enterprises was vital. He added that providing women with the institutional support needed to navigate this journey would ensure their long-term integration into the mainstream commercial sector.
Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Senior Vice President of FPCCI, reiterated the apex body’s commitment to capacity building. He said that the organization’s focus was to ensure that emerging women entrepreneurs did not operate in isolation. Through structured networking, access to finance, and dedicated facilitation, FPCCI was committed to bridging the gap between local innovation and global supply chains, he added.
Abdul Mohamin Khan, Vice President and Regional Chairman Sindh of FPCCI, explained that the Home to Hub framework had been designed to achieve six core outcomes for its participants: inspire, inform, connect, classify, register, and validate.
Qurrat Ul Ain, Vice President of FPCCI, emphasized the apex body’s foundational role in promoting women’s economic empowerment. She said that FPCCI served as a key support platform for women entrepreneurs. She added that, by formalizing these enterprises and providing them with direct pathways to international markets, the organization was driving inclusive and sustainable economic growth for the country.
The initiative was spearheaded and organized by Ms Naheed Masud, Consultant on Women Entrepreneurs Affairs (Sindh Region) for FPCCI. Concluding the event and outlining the way forward, she said that the inaugural event presented the program’s roadmap. She explained that the goal was to classify participants into sector-specific clusters-such as IT and Digital, Fashion and Textiles, and Health and Nutrition-and register them in a digital database to provide customized mentorship and targeted access to finance.