Pakistan’s federal government is gearing up to launch an AI-powered Womenpreneurship Platform, a new initiative aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs by simplifying business registration, tax management, and access to training and market intelligence. The project, part of broader efforts to strengthen the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector, was presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during a meeting focused on SME development and the ongoing reorganization of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA).
According to details shared by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Womenpreneurship Platform is designed as a comprehensive digital hub that will offer end-to-end support for women-led businesses. It aims to streamline key business operations, from registration to compliance and financial management, while promoting inclusion through access to digital tools and capacity-building programs.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif praised the initiative, describing it as a commendable step toward increasing women’s participation in Pakistan’s economic landscape. He directed relevant departments to ensure that awareness about the platform reaches women entrepreneurs nationwide so that more can benefit from the opportunities it will create.
In addition to the platform, the PM was briefed on SMEDA’s expansion, which now includes newly established offices in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. These new branches have already begun engaging local chambers of commerce and community leaders, receiving encouraging feedback from regional entrepreneurs.
To further strengthen governance, a new board of private sector experts has been constituted for SMEDA, and the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer is expected to be finalized soon. The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the restructuring progress and instructed officials to define a clear implementation timeline to ensure timely execution of all development initiatives.
This move comes as Pakistan faces a persistent gender gap in economic participation. Female labor force participation in the country remains below 25 percent, one of the lowest rates in South Asia, despite women comprising nearly half of the national population. A joint diagnostic study by SMEDA and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed that only 19 percent of entrepreneurs in Pakistan are women, and a mere 0.1 percent qualify as female employers.
Against this backdrop, the AI-based Womenpreneurship Platform represents a timely and strategic intervention to address structural barriers limiting women’s access to entrepreneurship. By integrating technology with policy support, the initiative aims to create a more inclusive and enabling ecosystem for women-led SMEs, unlocking untapped potential in Pakistan’s business sector and contributing to long-term sustainable growth.
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