KP Sets Up Rs. 50 Million Women Fund

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has pledged a Rs. 50 million endowment fund to support economic development activities for women entrepreneurs, along with additional measures to strengthen women-led businesses across the province.

The support was announced by Finance Advisor Muzammil Aslam during his recent visit to the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Peshawar Division. The measures follow policy proposals put forward by the chamber to improve access to finance, entrepreneurship development and institutional support for women-led businesses.

The government has also committed Rs. 5 million for upgrading the Women Chamber, particularly to strengthen its capacity building and facilitation functions. It will also support a reduced interest rate subsidy for access to finance schemes proposed by the chamber.

Another initiative involves establishing a Women Incubation Center at WCCIPD to provide entrepreneurs with support for enterprise development, capacity building and business growth.

WCCIPD President Qurat ul Ain welcomed the provincial government’s support and acknowledged Muzammil Sahib’s role in supporting the chamber’s proposals. She said the measures reflected the value of structured dialogue between the government and private sector and could help turn policy proposals into practical economic initiatives.

The chamber said its policy advocacy has focused on finance, market access, capacity building, entrepreneurship development, institutional infrastructure and economic inclusion. Founder President Sajida Zulfiqar also highlighted gaps and opportunities related to industrial development and the use of available assets for economic activity.

Shamama Arbab highlighted sector-specific opportunities for women, particularly in food processing and agriculture-related businesses, and called for targeted facilitation to support such enterprises.

WCCIPD said it would continue working with the provincial government and other stakeholders on implementation of the measures and on improving women’s access to economic opportunities across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.