The COSARAF Foundation is a listed sponsor of the Enterprise Challenge Pakistan, which is an educational programme for students aged 13-18 to help them to develop personal, professional, and entrepreneurial abilities. The programme was first established by the Foundation’s long-standing partner HRH The Prince of Wales’ Mosaic Initiative, and has been running since 2017.

This year’s winners were Shams Tabraiz, Fatima Shabbir, Nazeem Ullah, and Najum-Ul-Hassan, with their business Sell Hunza, an online platform which supports women in the Gilgit Baltistan region of Pakistan to generate their own income. 60% of the livelihood in the region depends on the tourist industry, including hotels, shops, guesthouses, and cafés, and within this industry there is huge demand for local products. Individual initiatives led by women to create handicrafts, local dishes, dried fruit products, and jewellery have largely been overshadowed by bigger businesses, and it is Sell Hamza’s hope that their platform can “connect the underprivileged female with the mainstream industry ensuring their active role in the economic development of the area starting from their homes.”

The COSARAF Foundation is also pleased to discover that Fatima Shabbir, the team’s designer, has gone on to begin a medical qualification, all while managing the Sell Hunza business.