WECREATE | Pakistan Center (Women’s Entrepreneurial Center of Resources, Education, Access, and Training for Economic Empowerment) hosted a digital video conference connecting female Pakistani entrepreneurs with former USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore. The event established a digital forum for sharing best business practices and lessons learned between Ms. Fore, distinguished public servants and entrepreneurs, and emerging female business leaders.
From 2007 to 2009, Ms. Fore served as the USAID Administrator and Director of United States Foreign Assistance. Ms. Fore, now serving as the Chairman and CEO of the consulting firm, Holsman International, spoke via video connection about the importance of female entrepreneurship in economic development and the challenges women face in the business world.
“For all of you that are entrepreneurs, you know that you have a creative spark inside of you, and the opportunity and the challenge for you is how you bring that spark out and create products and services that the world around you needs and wants,” Fore said.
U.S. Embassy Islamabad worked with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of International Information Programs and WECREATE to connect Ms. Fore with the audience in Islamabad. This program is part of a global U.S. government effort to support people-to-people conversations about policy and other issues of mutual concern between Americans and international audiences. U.S. Embassy Islamabad dedicates more than $40 million annually to strengthen ties between the United States and Pakistan in areas such as women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, the arts, and sports.
The WECREATE | PAKISTAN Center, the first incubator in Pakistan designed specifically for female entrepreneurs, is playing an important role in advancing gender equality in entrepreneurship. Launched in February 2015 by former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard G. Olson, its resources, training, and mentorship provided through the center enable Pakistani women to move from the informal sector to the formal sector while generating momentum for measurable economic and societal change. To learn more about WECREATE, visit: http://pakistan.wecreatecenter.com/.
