Experience

WeRaise

• Pakistan
• Business Consulting and Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Lead Coach and Technical Advisor

  • Sep 2020 - Present

  Coaching and connecting tenacious women founders and angel investors in a capital raise coaching program design and supported by the WoldBank Group Coaching and connecting tenacious women founders and angel investors in a capital raise coaching program design and supported by the WoldBank Group



Invest2Innovate (i2i)

• Pakistan
• Business Consulting and Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Executive Officer

  • Nov 2020 - Sep 2022

  Invest2Innovate is Pakistan's leading startup ecosystem builder with over 10 years of proven leadership in accelerating and capacitating startups, support organizations and investing stakeholders across the region. We are boutique company with 10 team members that have accelerated over 60 startups that have gone to raise over $50million in total to date in pre-seed and seed-stage funding and created over 2000 jobs since 2012

• Program Consultant

  • Jun 2020 - Nov 2020

  Spearheading Implementation of World Bank's Wefi "Entrepreneur Growth and Fundraising Readiness" Program



GharPar Technologies Private Limited

• Pakistan
• Wellness and Fitness Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Co-Founder, Director

  • Apr 2016 - Sep 2020

  GharPar is a home beauty services marketplace platform, that connects beauticians to clients through a web and mobile-based solution. GharPar is the first of its kind to disrupt the beauty services industry in Pakistan by formalizing and empowering an untapped, informal and exploitative market. It provides lucrative economic opportunities to women skilled in beauty services and enables them to be self-sufficient. the average technician on this platform takes home five times the amount earned by the average beautician in Pakistan. since its inception in 2016, GharPar has been celebrated by the business and development sector community for its innovative business model that has successfully proven that profits and social impact can in fact go hand in hand.

• Co-Founder, COO

  • Apr 2016 - Mar 2020

  -Spearheading GharPar's scale up and expansion to nationwide geographies starting with Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi -Created and implemented operational blue print and SOPs for service/appointment dispatch, service delivery quality control, beautician payroll, sales reporting, beautician HR controls and inventory management-Established sales data and feedback collection mechanisms for over 30,000 registered clients -Developing GharPar's community mobilization strategy through first hand field level research which has led to the recruitment of over 150 active beauticians-Designing and implementing life and soft skills components of GharPar's beautician training pragramme -Identifying gaps and opportunities for women economic inclusion through innovative business and market place solutions-Dreaming and realizing GharPar's vision and strategy with the country's best Co-founding team!



Oxfam

• United Kingdom
• Non-profit Organizations
• 700 & Above Employee

• Mentor and Coach Youth Programme

  • Oct 2017 - Nov 2019

  Model and Support Oxfam's "Young Leaders Mindset Change and Self Awareness workshops" focused on: -encouraging youth to change the way they think about and engage with culture in solving problems and identifying opportunity -unlocking socio-cultural and psycological channels to foster and influence inclusion, prosperity and belonging by using Oxfam's "right- based approach" Model and Support Oxfam's "Young Leaders Mindset Change and Self Awareness workshops" focused on: -encouraging youth to change the way they think about and engage with culture in solving problems and identifying opportunity -unlocking socio-cultural and psycological channels to foster and influence inclusion, prosperity and belonging by using Oxfam's "right- based approach"



Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP), Harvard EPod

• Lahore

• Finance Team Lead-Education Finance Project

  • Dec 2014 - Jun 2016

  • Developing strategy for creating sustainable partnership buy-in by identifying and investing in priority areas for TMFB • Primary communicator with all tiers of TMFB management and staff. Daily operational liaison with field management and team (twenty personnel) as well as a one on one relationship with senior executive management • Spearheading targeted use of RCT to evaluate impact of two credit products (Equity and Standard Loan) on the development of 800 low cost private schools in rural Punjab • Created and deploying tablet screener to conduct a six minute needs assessment of 5000 schools in order to target offers to only those who have a financial need • Introduced client data collection through tablets for 150 clients which led to the rapid analysis of daily loan take-up trends and loan processing turnaround time • Conducting data analysis to optimize product design and prioritize delivery for two product offerings by scientifically observing loan utilization and repayment behaviors of 150 clients • Consolidating and structuring database of low cost private schools owners across Punjab, 1800 schools captured to date, target population to be captured: 5000 schools



Ruralasia Enterprise Services (Pvt.) Ltd.

• Lahore, Pakistan

• Operations and Coordination Manager

  • Jul 2014 - Dec 2014

  Startup Operations and Coordination Manager June 2014-December 2014 • Single handedly established field pilot operations in two new rural locations of Punjab and trained Rural Business Center (RBC) managers, ensuring day-to-day smooth running of RBC • Developed 86 in depth farmer financial and behavioral profiles as credit assessment tools that reduced their perceived risk profiles with corporate bank enabling them to access adequate credit for farming needs. • Piloted five unique cost saving business solutions for small to medium scale farmers (fifty farms) by partnering with corporate suppliers, buyers and financial providers in the agriculture value chain. • Successfully arranged receivable bridge financing for ten farmers by creating linkage between corporate bank and sugar mill. This resulted in continued relationship between Sugar mill and farmers • Proposed five year expansion strategy that included financing of farm inputs, technical knowledge and farmer capacity building and a cold storage transportation and logistics component for access to high return markets



Women's World Banking

• United States
• Non-profit Organizations
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Summer Associate Intern

  • May 2013 - Aug 2013

  • Spearheaded Knowledge Management Initiative focused on streamlining technical capacity and product development tools • Organized tools according to WWB product development phases for product innovation in Youth Savings, Girls Savings and Financial Education, Credit and Micro-insurance • Created a new information sharing database by collecting, analyzing and consolidating tools across all departments • Recommended changes and additions in tools after identifying gaps and consulting team members across departments • Conducted secondary market research, indentifying microcredit and savings needs of women in rural Malawi, for creating field research questionnaires for NBS Bank



Kashf Foundation

• Pakistan
• Financial Services
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Senior Associate-Team Lead

  • Sep 2010 - Mar 2012

  Senior Associate: Microfinance Operations, Product Development and Research Jan 2011–Feb 2012 • Developed, piloted and spearheaded rollout of Kashf's first Start-up loan (KIKK), targeted at female micro-entrepreneurs who required seed capital • Researched and explored Gold Backed Lending targeted at middle-low income women for home improvement or education • Launched Kashf’s first Progress out of Poverty report that tracked the social mobility of its clients and the socio-economic impact of Kashf's micro-loans • Designed surveys and conducted market research on a regular basis to assess consumer financial behavior and attitudes towards credit products • Instituted client exit surveys followed by assisting COO in reviewing, updating and synthesizing company policy memo based on client and staff feedback • Set performance targets and co-administered daily target monitoring and portfolio risk management for 48 branches in 12 districts • Revised and updated business appraisal procedures to streamline disbursement criteria according to client repayment capacity • Traveled to field branches three-four times a week to ensure smooth operational running of branches and client satisfaction • Supervised and supported a team of six Associates at the head office Associate: Flood Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Project Sep 2010–Jan 2011 • Designed, conducted, compiled and presented outcomes of over 1000 needs and damage assessment surveys in flood affected areas of rural South Punjab • Created selection criteria, appraisal forms and SOPs for the construction of 512 houses in 12 different villages through data collection and monitoring • Monitored, coordinated and ensured timely construction of houses over period of seven months • Managed and trained a team of six field officers according to Post Disaster Management practices



African Gender Institute (AGI), University of Cape Town

• South Africa

• Gilman Research Fellow

  • Jul 2009 - Dec 2009

  • Conducted field research using qualitative methodology consisting of in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations on the "Gender Dynamics of Sexual Harassment: Female Bartenders in Cape Town” • Outcomes focus on varied underlying power dynamics, of race, class and patriarchy • The conclusion highlights the significant role of management in determining the bartender's capacity to practice agency within the space of a bar/club • Conducted field research using qualitative methodology consisting of in-depth interviews and ethnographic observations on the "Gender Dynamics of Sexual Harassment: Female Bartenders in Cape Town” • Outcomes focus on varied underlying power dynamics, of race, class and patriarchy • The conclusion highlights the significant role of management in determining the bartender's capacity to practice agency within the space of a bar/club