KARACHI/LONDON: From turning organic waste into fertiliser to sharing farm equipment, new businesses seeking to address social problems in Pakistan have made the South Asian nation one of the best performers in the second global poll on social entrepreneurs.
As the government struggles to find solutions for a nation affected by poverty, water scarcity, climate change and lack of sanitation, social startups are emerging to fill the gaps.
Pakistan was one of the three countries, along with Australia and the Netherlands, whose overall ranking improved the most since the first Thomson Reuters Foundation experts’ poll on the best countries for social entrepreneurs in 2016.
The country advanced 18 spots to place 14th among the world’s 45 biggest economies, seen as a nation where social entrepreneurs can make a living and attract good staff.
The interest of young people in the sector was seen as spurring growth, with a youth boom giving Pakistan one of the world’s youngest populations, a trend seen continuing until at least 2050, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
About two-thirds of Pakistan’s 210 million people are younger than 30 with 29 percent aged between 15 and 29.
