Women Techpreneurs

Women Techpreneurs is an incubation program designed to address the pressing need for empowering aspiring women entrepreneurs in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral where they often face obstacles such as limited access to specialized support, financial constraints, and a scarcity of mentors in non-traditional sectors. Women Techpreneurs aims to break these barriers, fostering economic empowerment and cultivating a generation of business-savvy role models for future women leaders.

Program Goals

Women Techpreneurs is driven by a mission to:

Equip women entrepreneurs with the required skills and knowledge for launching and growing a business.
Improve investment readiness of women-led businesses by adopting sustainable business models, using tools such as Business Model Canvas, Financial Model, and Pitch Deck.
Educate women entrepreneurs about the local and global market opportunities and create market linkages
Help women entrepreneurs secure potential financing from AP and external investors

Who Is This Program For?

This year’s cohort is specifically designed to support businesses from the idea stage to Pre-revenue stage around following problems identified in the region.

Chitral

The Chitral region faces a critical challenge in the limited diversification of cash crop production. The current reliance on a narrow range of crops poses economic vulnerabilities and inhibits the exploration of new market opportunities. 
The women hold great talent in the handicraft sector but the lack of modern fusions in the design and insufficient knowledge of digital integration in the businesses has kept them away from the potential market. 
Insufficient healthcare facilities, telehealth facilities and a notable absence of accessible pharmacies is a pain point in the region. This scarcity undermines the delivery of essential medical services and disrupts the timely availability of medications.

Hunza

Poor town planning exacerbates challenges, creating logistical and supply chain issues that hinder efficient operations for local businesses. 
Limitations in sustainable accommodation options, transportation, and recreational facilities for the tourists, leading to challenges in providing a seamless and enjoyable experience. 
Lack of technology integration in the conventional/traditional businesses.

Components of Women Techpreneurs

Women Techpreneurs will bring together all essential elements of the incubation program comprising of the following key features:

Expert-Led Business Training and Advisor
Personalized Technical Assistance
Mentorship Sessions
Co-Working Spaces
Market Linkages/Networking Opportunities

Relevant business training will be delivered to women entrepreneurs to help them improve and refine their business models, sales and marketing plans, financial models and pitch decks.

Shortlisted business after the in-person training will receive tailored one-on-one advisory from AP’s TA team and detailed financial advisory from the experts before being referred to investment team for pre-financing due diligence.

During their incubation, at least 4 mentorship sessions will be conducted during and/or after the business training sessions. The session will be led by a relevant entrepreneur who has grown in the ecosystem and shown significant traction in the past.

Entrepreneurs will be provided with dedicated spaces to work on their business, interact and collaborate with fellow aspiring or emerging entrepreneurs and other important ecosystem stakeholders at AP’s co-working spaces.

Women entrepreneurs will get the opportunity to become a part of AP incubation programs’ alumni community and be able to get access to alumni networking events and investor meetups. Entrepreneurs will also get the chance to hunt different points of sale and better connect with their customer base and target market through various post-technical advisory support marketing and accounting services provided by AP.

Who Can Apply?

Female entrepreneurs aged 15-35
Region: Gilgit (entrepreneurs will be travelling from Chitral, Ghizer, & Hunza) and Skardu (entrepreneurs will be travelling from various districts of Baltistan)
Startup must be led or co-led by a woman.
Startup must be in the ideation, development and launch stage, pre-revenue, or early stage.