Economic activities aimed at earning profit are meant to be business. While putting the risk factor at the top and doing business is called ‘entrepreneurship’. Practicing entrepreneurship by aiming to benefit society at first is ‘social entrepreneurship’ (SE).
Technically, in SE, profit is benchmarked after benefitting society. In fact, Pakistan is blessed and is in abundance with resources that are capable to benefit as a whole and regional upholding in particular. Tharparkar in Sindh is one of the regions that keep sources of revenue generation for Thar and Pakistan only if supported through the Micro-Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) spectrum.
Joint Committee of Afghan Legal Analysts Formed to Address Refugee Issues
Opium Poppy Cultivation Declined by 95% in Afghanistan: UNODC
For more such Opinions & blogs, click here.
Interestingly, when I was working at Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), Sindh in a European Union-funded (EU) and International Trade Centre-implementing (ITC- United Nations) project, i.e., Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP), we used to implement different MSME-centric activities including business registration, and providing training to horticulture and livestock farmers. Capacity-building of farmers in the selected value chains was one of the activities. I moved to Mithi, Tharparkar with a hired-trainer to provide an 8-day Level-1 ‘Agribusiness Management and Marketing’ training to 55 selected farmers.
During the training, I learned that there is a huge potential lies within the minds of the people of Tharparkar. The ability to do business is rather indigenous but meticulous in nature. The tradition of memorizing things & historic events, and the way of telling the memoirs are mind-blowing.
Mr. Majeed from Mithi is a livestock seller. He sells goats and cows locally and transports them to not only nearby localities but also big cities like Karachi, and Lahore. Once, he asked me to provide him a break for half a day as he was to send the order in a truck to Lahore. I was astonished to experience this, as Tharparkar is a region which is malnourished, poverty-stricken, and leader-less then how a Thari is having business ties out of his small town to big cities and even province.
Mullah Baradar Meets Iranian FM During Tehran Visit
Death anniversary of Shabab Keranvi being observed today
Mr. Partab Shivani, a social activist from Mithi for the last two decades, is vocal about Thar’s livelihood landscape that: “Tharparkar is in a transition mode. Human norms have changed here, while tradition of domestic training is decreasing day-by-day. People are not ready to do small business. The mentality has not been moving to a changing mode”. He says that poverty in Tharparkar is mental, not materialistic. Different factors combine to make Tharparkar a poverty-stricken. Like in Tharparkar, a person does feel shy in establishing a small kiosk, however, he remains in search of a job for days and months for Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 but his mental approach does not allow him to establish a small business and earn more than the expected amount monthly. Undoubtedly, livestock is a lifeline for Tharparkar.
London School of Economics revealed in 2018 that Tharparkar’s livestock population is more than six million. It means that there are plenty of sources of revenue generation from only livestock variables if treated fairly.
True, amid the increasing factors of multi-faceted issues & problems roaming in Tharparkar, Ms. Daina, 22, of village Hasho Patel, Mithi, Tharparkar has a vision and striving to come out of poverty for herself, her family, and her village. Currently, she possesses eight goats and two cows. Earlier, she used to only sell milk in her village, but, as she voices, after the training she is now earning more than that. She has learned the art of making value-added byproducts of milk. She prepares milk ice cream -selling at Rs. 30/packet- and Khoya -selling at Rs.350/kg-. The ice cream is sold locally in the village while Khoya is sold and transported to vendors in Mithi city upon their online order. Not only this, she has also trained other livestock farmers in her village to practice this modern business activity to impact their lives financially.
For more such Opinions & blogs, click here.
Pakistan lauds courageous UN workers serving humanity in Gaza
Zeenat Aman To Make A Bollywood Comeback With Bun Tikki Alongside Shabana Azmi
The livestock farmers in Tharparkar need training in the areas of livestock farming, livestock farming management, skills and abilities for livestock business, value chains and components of value chains, market, marketing & digital marketing, value addition in livestock, cooperative business model, and record maintenance & accounting. Capacity building in these areas will strengthen the established businesses and empower upcoming youth-led MSMEs in Tharparkar to equip themselves with the market demand and run innovation-led MSMEs.
There is a major role of the business community in empowering small businesses at Tharparkar. First, as voiced by Mr. Partab Shivani, “the difference between the small unions at Tharparkar needs to be eliminated immediately and become under one umbrella to help grow SMEs in Tharparkar”.
Government, stakeholders, NGOs, and MSME-supporting organizations like SMEDA, Sindh Enterprise Development Fund, and donors should gear a strategy that seeks to cater to the financial needs of MSMEs and promise to nurture innovative startups/MSMEs culture in Tharparkar. There is a large number of awaiting prospective business leaders needing a supportive trigger that envisions to prosper Tharparkar.
Principal Arrested For Sexually Harassing Over 50 Girls
Lahore Among World’s Most Polluted Today, Smog Chokes Delhi
Germany Airport Hostage Standoff Ends After Nearly 16 Hours, Man Arrested
The writer is an expert in livelihood, business incubation, MSME training, and public policy. He can be reached at furqanhyders@gmail.com
Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for more. Download our app for the latest news, updates & interesting content!
