With the upcoming federal budget for 2026-27, Samina Fazil, founder president of the Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI), urges the government to view women entrepreneurs as economic assets. She notes that women own only about 8% of the country’s small and medium enterprises and emphasizes the need for tangible financial commitments to support them.

In the 2025-26 federal development budget, women-focused projects received just 0.2 percent, with related education and health programs at only 0.57 percent. Key demands from IWCCI include a dedicated credit line for women entrepreneurs, mandatory representation on key boards, procurement quotas for women-led businesses, and the replication of successful marketplaces in other provinces.

Despite the launch of the National Women Entrepreneurship Policy in late 2025, concerns have arisen over its lack of funding and enforcement. Comparatively, neighbors like Bangladesh and India have significantly larger gender budgets to support women-led enterprises. Fazil argues that including women in the formal economy is vital to economic growth, making dedicated budget allocations essential to achieve real impact.