Image: Collage includes (L to R) Zain Ashraf, Laila Kasuri and Karishma Ali Credit: Forbes/SAMAA TV
How entrepreneurship is fast taking roots in the educated youth of the generally complacent Pakistani society is reflected in the 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia List of Social Entrepreneurs.
The latest list features nine Pakistanis, almost one third of the best performing youth in the Asian continent.
“he young entrepreneurs were chosen from over 2,000 entries, “heavily researched by a team of reporters and vetted by an A-list of judges.”
“These 300 entrepreneurs and game-changers, representing 23 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, stood out for the right reasons,” the magazine said.
Zain Ashraf Mughal, Chief Executive of a crowdfunded company Seed Out emerges as a shining light in the magazine’s pick of the talented young leaders.
The 28-year-old head of a non-profit, non-political and non-religious venture scored a spot on the prestigious list as his company raised over 600 entrepreneurs in four Pakistani cities with a funding of Rs 90,000 per person that has put at least 1,600 children into schools.
According to the Forbes website, the crowdfunding platform “works to eradicate poverty by establishing entrepreneurs with interest-free microfinancing. Donors can choose to donate or lend to projects listed on the nonprofit’s website and can track progress along the way. When repayment is made, the organization helps to reinvest the sum into other projects.”
Roshni Rides team receiving the Hult Prize from former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 2017. Image: Forbes (https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960×0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Fywang%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F03%2Fbill.jpg)
The other next generation leaders from Pakistan, recognized by Forbes are:
Zainab Bibi
She is the founder of Pakistani Society for Green Energy. The company was formed in 2013. Since then, it has successfully developed biofuel from waste tissue paper, and introduced Camelina Sativa, a drought-resistant plant that can be made into bio-diesel, according to Forbes.
Laila Kasuri
Laila Kasuri works as a water analyst at Global Green Growth Institute.
She has led research at organizations such as the World Bank, the US Army Corps of Engineers, and the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences on climate-smart irrigation, flood risk reduction, and river basin planning.
Karishma Ali
Karishma Ali is the president of Chitral Women’s Sports Club. She is currently the only woman football player from her hometown. She has represented Pakistan at the Jubilee Games in Dubai, and her team was the first women’s team from Pakistan to participate in the AFL International Cup.
Ahmed Rauf Essa
Ahmed Rauf Essa is the co-founder of Telemart, one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Pakistan. The company also has an extensive wholesale channel which caters to more than 500 dealers online, and is an end-to-end solutions provider for major firms such as P&G, Lucky Cement, and Ufone.
The list also includes Hanaa Lakhani, Hasan Usmani, Gia Farooqi and Moneeb Mian, who are the co-founders of Roshni Rides. It is a women-friendly carpooling platform for commuters based in Pakistan.
“In Pakistan, Roshni Rides is catering to the need for safer and more reliable transportation by providing rickshaw rides to female employees. The idea is a spinoff from the cofounders’ original project—Hanaa Lakhani, Hasan Usmani, Gia Farooqi and Moneeb Mian won in 2017 the $1 million Hult Prize for their idea of arranging affordable rickshaw rides along designated routes between a refugee camp and common destinations such as markets and hospitals,” the magazine notes.
All the four Pakistani Americans have since moved back to Karachi, where, Forbes notes, they are further building their ride-sharing business.
