The lady with a vision

Uzma Munaf Khan was associated with the banking sector for almost 27 years where she held senior management positions at; ANZ Grindlays, Standard Chartered Bank in Karachi & Singapore, Standard Bank in South Africa and NIB Bank Pakistan. Her last position was Head Strategic Business Development at NIB Bank Ltd.

Recently, Uzma has joined INJAZ Pakistan as their new CEO. This week You! talks to this dynamic lady...

You: Why did you join INJAZ Pakistan?

Uzma Munaf Khan: I wanted to make a difference in the development sector and wanted to apply my corporate experience to impact and inspire the Pakistani youth. It was my time to give back to my country.

You! What exactly is INJAZ Pakistan?

U. M.K: INJAZ Pakistan is an NGO that provides co curriculum education to students free of cost. We have three education streams: entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy and work readiness.

INJAZ Pakistan is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA), the world’s largest organisation dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. JA was set up in 1919 and reaches over 10 million students annually across more than 120 countries. The MENA (Middle East North Africa and Pakistan) member countries of JA are organized under the regional setup of INJAZ Al-Arab, a network of 15 MENA countries working on a common mission to prepare and inspire young people to succeed in a global economy.

Founded in 2012, INJAZ Pakistan is an initiative of the Aman Foundation. It has since reached over 13,000 students across 89 schools and 11 universities, thanks to 72 corporate partners and over 328 corporate volunteers.

You! What are the aims and objectives of INJAZ Pakistan for this year?

U. M.K: INJAZ Pakistan offers programs in preparatory schools, high schools, universities and youth centres across Pakistan. With the help of its active corporate volunteer community, INJAZ is able to reach students from Grade 7 to university level. The corporate volunteers serve as inspiring role models for the youth, sharing their real-life work and entrepreneurship experiences and advice.

Our objective for this year is to impact at least 20,000 students across the nation. We also aim to run the JA Company Program across at least 30 institutes so that we are well prepared for the 2016 Young Entrepreneurs Regional Competition. This gives our youth an excellent opportunity to showcase their talent and ability globally.

You! What have been the most successful projects of INJAZ?

U.M.K: We have successfully executed a tailored entrepreneurship program titled Junior CEOs in Korangi and resulted in 38 small businesses. We piloted the JA Company Programme in Karachi in 2015 and took the winning team to Oman for the Regional Competition. This was the first time Pakistan was represented in this forum. Pakistan was the first nation to launch the Head Start programme in the work readiness stream, which has been very successful and are sharing best practices with other member nations. We have received a lot of interest from professional and educational institutions regarding the Head Start programme.

You! What is the most important advice you can give to women who have just started their careers?

U.M.K: Being focused and determined is the key to a successful career. Of course, there will be many ups and downs along the way, but don’t get distracted by the bumps in the road. You should be very clear about your vision and then pursue it with a passion. If you believe in it others will too!

You! What are the challenges, in your eyes, are facing by Pakistani women today?

U.M.K: We face a host of challenges in all facets of our lives. For a professional woman in Pakistan she needs to balance her home and work life, which is a huge task in itself. There are barriers and expectations that need to be managed at home and at work. I think that most men in Pakistan still need to learn to respect their female colleagues and accept them as equals. The ‘glass ceiling’ and the ‘boys club’ are unfortunately still predominantly prevalent in the Pakistani corporate sector. Women are generally considered to fit only stereotypical roles of support functions, medical, nursing, teaching, fashion, beauty etc.

You! Do you think general mindset of our society is changing?

U.M.K: To a degree, yes, I feel that there is more acceptance of working women in big cities. We are also becoming more professional in our corporate lives by applying the best practices from the developed nations. However, we are still at the initial stages of a very long journey. The pace of change I believe is far slower than other parts of the world.

You! Any lessons learnt the hard way?

U.M.K: It’s a male dominated society, so understand the limitations and learn to work around them rather than hitting your head against the wall.

You! What’s your biggest accomplishment to-date?

U.M.K: My biggest accomplishment is my daughter Natalia who is currently studying sports management in Switzerland. Raising her well as a young widow, since she was 7 years old, has been my greatest challenge but also my finest achievement.

You! How do you unwind?

U.M.K: In my free time I like doing the normal stuff - reading, watching TV and spending time with family and friends.

You! What do you think are the main ingredients or traits essential to attain success?

U.M.K: Faith, Passion and lots of HARD WORK!

You! What are the positive points of being economically independent?

U.M.K: You feel empowered to make your own financial decisions. When you are not dependent on others this boosts your confidence and gives you the ability to move out of unwanted situations.

You! What may be the negative points of being empowered?

U.M.K: Empowerment of women cannot be negative.

You! Do you think working women can be good wives and mothers? As general mindset of the society is that they are not good home makers

U.M.K: Absolutely!

You! What do you do in your leisure time?

U.M.K: Meditation, yoga, reading.

You! Your philosophy of life:

U.M.K: HOPE!

The uncertainty of things fascinated her the unforeseen the unknown, the romanticism of hoping of waiting for something to happen... the everlasting wishing of rising only to fall. Hope... the most romantic feeling of all.

Poem By: N.R. Hart