Lahore-Telenor Pakistan has set a new precedent for enabling women’s education and digital literacy by training 1,100 women as part of the World Bank’s Girls Learn Women Earn (GLWE) initiative. As part of the programme,1,100 women were trained in digital skills including, solving business problems and upskilling women/girls in utilising digital tools to help scale their businesses.

While women make up half of the country’s population, unfortunately the share of girls among out-of-school children is even higher at 53%. Women’s labour participation in the country rests at 29% and only 1% of women engage in entrepreneurship. This was the core focus of the GLWE initiative and in order to achieve the committed targets, Telenor Create, the design academy at Telenor Pakistan, developed a customised curriculum to train and enable aspiring women entrepreneurs on digital skills.

Speaking on the development, Khurrum Ashfaque, Chief Operating Officer, Telenor Pakistan stated; “The challenges that we face today require collaborative efforts from all stakeholders, and at Telenor Pakistan, we’ve always considered it our responsibility to create meaningful impact in the society. Women’s education and empowerment is one of the pressing challenges and we are proud that through this project, we have successfully brought about positive changeand empowered 1,100 female entrepreneurs to realise their dreams.”

Out of 1,100 trained females, 770 participated from different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Malakand, Swabi and Charsadda. Moreover, urban female participants were upskilled with industry knowledge and relevant skills to enhance their employability and enable them to create a more human-centered business. After successfully bringing ‘Girls Learn Women Earn’ to a glorious conclusion in collaboration with the World Bank, Telenor Pakistan continues to stay committed to leveraging technology and its digital expertiseto promote diversity and inclusion across the country.