Pakistan Single Window (PSW), in collaboration with the LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship (LCE), an incubation centre committed to support entrepreneurship and business innovation in Pakistan, hosted a dedicated mentorship and capacity building session under its flagship Khadijah Women Entrepreneurship Program. Organized at the LCE auditorium on the LUMS campus, the event brought together aspiring women entrepreneurs, academic leaders, and industry veterans to focus on entrepreneurial growth, digital trade integration, and the role of practical mentorship in scaling female-led enterprises.
Designed to connect academic ambition with real-world business execution, the session centred on actionable guidance and practical insights from prominent business leaders and experts. Ms. Aasia Saail Khan, Founder and Director of LAMA; Ms. Saulat Salahuddin, Founder of Pronto Spaces; and Ms. Shehla Javed Akram, Founder of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) Lahore, served as key mentors. The session also featured specialised entrepreneurial training led by Dr. Shehryar Shahid, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at LUMS. It highlighted the role of the LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship (LCE) in venture creation, demonstrating how academic incubation and structured mentorship can accelerate early-stage startup growth.
The speakers shared real world experiences on understanding market complexities, building resilient brand identities, using digital platforms, and enabling sustainable business expansion. Their interactive guidance provided aspiring entrepreneurs with valuable lessons on overcoming operational barriers and scaling modern ventures in Pakistan’s evolving economic landscape.
As part of PSW’s mission to advance gender inclusion in trade, the Khadijah Program continues to expand its reach across key academic institutions and industrial clusters. Recognised with the WTO Global Award for Gender Equality in Trade, the initiative combines trade facilitation with practical mentorship, equipping female founders with the technical knowledge, regulatory understanding, and digital skills needed to thrive globally.
By connecting university talent with established industry figures, the program helps create an environment where innovative ideas can evolve into scalable, commercially viable enterprises.
Emphasizing the impact of mentorship on young founders, Syed Aftab Haider, CEO of PSW, stated, “Empowering the next generation of women entrepreneurs requires not just technical trade tools, but also demands meaningful mentorship and real-world industry perspective. Our engagement at LUMS under the Khadijah Program reflects PSW’s commitment to cultivating entrepreneurial growth by connecting aspiring female leaders with experienced trailblazers. By providing students with practical market knowledge, we are building an inclusive, technology driven foundation for Pakistan’s trade ecosystem.”
Reaffirming LCE’s commitment to inclusive economic development through entrepreneurial initiatives, Jazib Zahir, Director LCE, commented, “We value this partnership with Pakistan Single Window for the Khadijah Program because it adds another dimension to our effort to integrate practical elements into our curriculum. Entrepreneurial thinking, digital skills, product-market fit and building for scale are all vital for success in the modern workplace. This exposure to business leaders and entrepreneurship experts provides encouragement to women entrepreneurs to develop these skills and build on their ideas.”
Through ongoing partnerships with academic centres of excellence and industry leaders, Pakistan Single Window continues to strengthen the framework for female entrepreneurship across the country. By embedding real world mentorship, digital trade literacy, and leadership development into its outreach, the Khadijah Program remains a central part of inclusive economic growth and paperless trade transformation.
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