Pakistan Single Window (PSW) partnered with the LUMS Centre for Entrepreneurship (LCE) to hold a mentorship and capacity-building session for women entrepreneurs, held at the LCE auditorium on the LUMS campus under PSW’s Khadijah Women Entrepreneurship Program.
The session brought together aspiring women entrepreneurs, academic leaders, and industry veterans to discuss entrepreneurial growth, digital trade integration, and the role of mentorship in scaling female-led businesses.
Three business leaders served as mentors: Aasia Saail Khan, Founder and Director of LAMA; Saulat Salahuddin, Founder of Pronto Spaces; and Shehla Javed Akram, Founder of the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WCCI) Lahore. Dr. Shehryar Shahid, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at LUMS, led specialised entrepreneurial training during the event.
Participants received guidance on navigating market complexities, building brand identity, leveraging digital platforms, and expanding businesses sustainably. The session also underscored LCE’s role in venture creation, illustrating how academic incubation and structured mentorship can accelerate early-stage startup growth.
The Khadijah Program, which has received the WTO Global Award for Gender Equality in Trade, forms part of PSW’s broader effort to advance gender inclusion in trade. It combines trade facilitation with mentorship, giving female founders the technical knowledge, regulatory understanding, and digital skills required to compete internationally.
The program continues to expand across academic institutions and industrial clusters nationwide, linking university talent with established industry figures to help ideas develop into commercially viable enterprises.
Speaking at the event, PSW CEO Syed Aftab Haider said empowering women entrepreneurs requires mentorship and industry exposure alongside technical trade tools. He said the engagement at LUMS reflected PSW’s commitment to connecting aspiring female leaders with experienced professionals and building a technology-driven foundation for Pakistan’s trade ecosystem.
LCE Director Jazib Zahir said the partnership with PSW strengthened the centre’s efforts to integrate practical elements into its curriculum. He said entrepreneurial thinking, digital skills, product-market fit, and scaling capacity were essential for success in the modern workplace, and that exposure to business leaders encourages women entrepreneurs to build on their ideas.
Through its continuing partnerships with academic institutions and industry leaders, PSW said it aims to strengthen the framework for female entrepreneurship in Pakistan by embedding mentorship, digital trade literacy, and leadership development into its outreach programs.
