Exposure Visit – NIC Islamabad

Under the Project Fostering Critical Thinking and Entrepreneurial Skills in Young Women for Gender Inclusive Socioeconomic Development (FCTEW) at Rawalpindi Women University (RWU), an exposure visit for 48 students and 3 faculty members to National Incubation Center Islamabad was arranged. The students were welcomed by Mr. Ibraheem Ahmed (Senior Consultant at Teamup and Trainings manager at NIC Islamabad). He explained to students how NIC bridges the gap between entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. He explained the difference between self-employment, income generation, entrepreneurship, and business. He led a group activity where students came up with their business ideas around the FCTEW project thematic areas such as women empowerment, women entrepreneurship, combating gender-based violence, and critical thinking.
The floor was then passed to Ms. Zoone Hasan (Marketeer at the Mad House) who delivered a brief session on the everyday challenges working women face. She discussed how women can tackle these challenges and revolutionize the corporate ecosystem. After Ms. Zoone’s session, Mr. Muhammad Shoaib (Team lead at Mountain shop) came to tell students how Mountain Shop has facilitated women-led startups in Gilgit Baltistan.
Following the tea break, Mr. Ibraheem Ahmed gave the training participants a tour of NIC Islamabad’s co-working space. He took the participants to the Jazz xlr8 experience hub which is a cutting-edge usability testing platform at NIC Islamabad. He also showed participants the maker space at NIC Islamabad where startups can test their products before launching them. Lastly, Mr. Parvez Abbasi (Project Director at NIC Islamabad) took the young women on a journey with his inspirational insights on entrepreneurship. He asked students to make use of resources like LinkedIn to showcase their portfolio and seek job/business opportunities.
The day ended with some group pictures and videos where students excitedly raised the slogans like “Women Can and Women Will!”
Rawalpindi Women University administration applauded the SFEA team for their support and expressed their interest in furthering collaboration with SFEA for their future events.