Economic empowerment of BISP beneficiaries through promotion of skills

Islamabad

For promotion of handicraft skills of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries and provision of better access to their products in the national and international markets, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between BISP, Aik Hunar Aik Nagar (AHAN) and TCS on Thursday.

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, Minister of State and Chairperson BISP Marvi Memon, Chairperson AHAN Shireen Arshad Khan, Secretary BISP Muhammad Saleem Ahmed Ranjha, CEO AHAN Naveed Sheikh, Regional Director TCS Farrukh Nadeem, Joint Secretary Ministry of Commerce Fareena Mazhar and several parliamentarians, diplomats, representatives of NGOs, civil society, media and government and international organizations were present on the occasion of  E-Commerce MoU signing ceremony.

AHAN is a not-for-profit organisation working under administrative control of Ministry of Industries and Production and it focuses on generating non-traditional employment opportunities in rural areas. The objective is to alleviate poverty in rural and semi-urban areas of Pakistan by supporting rural based micro and small enterprises engaged in the production of non-farm goods.

On the occasion, Minister for Industries and Production said that the initiation of cooperation among the organisations is a very important step and it will give international recognition to the traditional products of the country.

BISP chairperson said that this initiative is a founding stone of economic empowerment for BISP beneficiaries as it will introduce them to the national and international markets. She said the mandate of BISP is to provide financial assistance to 5.2 million beneficiaries to meet their basic needs, however, such initiatives will help them to improve their economic condition and will also assist the country in accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals.

After exchange of data between BISP and AHAN, beneficiaries, across the country, are identified for enrolling them with AHAN for polishing their skills and connecting them to the markets. The products prepared by BISP beneficiaries include regional textile, ceramics, wood, leather, marble mosaic and mazri products and are physically available at all AHAN's regional offices.

According to the MoU, TCS has offered a separate page for products of BISP beneficiaries on its website www.yayvo.com. TCS will upload all BISP beneficiaries’ products on that page and make it public so the clients could place an order at the same page.