LONDON: His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales met with Heads of Government and Heads of State from across the Commonwealth at a Prince’s Trust International reception held at St James’ Palace recently. Faraz Khan, CEO of SEED Ventures in Pakistan was in attendance to talk about how delivery of the Prince’s Trust International Enterprise Challenge programme is inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The event welcomed representatives from across the Commonwealth, who heard from: HRH The Prince of Wales and Lloyd Dorfman CBE, Chairman of The Prince’s Trust and Prince’s Trust International about how Prince’s Trust International is working with a range of delivery partners to support young people around the world into sustainable employment, education or training.
The Prince of Wales paid tribute to the young people whose lives have been transformed by his charity and the devotion of all those behind its work. He also spoke of the opportunity to support more unemployed young people across the Commonwealth with Prince’s Trust International’s programmes in education, personal development and business.
Lloyd Dorfman CBE, Chairman, Prince’s Trust and Prince’s Trust International, said: “The mission of our charity, to provide skills and jobs for young people, will create our common wealth. Since launching at the last CHOGM in 2015, PTI has grown and developed. We are running programmes in nine countries, seven of which are in the Commonwealth, including Pakistan.”
The Prince’s Trust International Enterprise Challenge programme, delivered by SEED Ventures provides young people with an opportunity to learn core business skills.
Following the successful launch of the programme in 20 Pakistani schools in 2016, last year delivery was extended to 45 schools reaching over 600 students in 28 cities across Pakistan. Faraz Khan, CEO of SEED Ventures said: “Enterprise Development across various landscapes and verticals is SEED’s core mandate, and we believe that young people can contribute immensely to this ecosystem. Hence, the pace, quality and scale of Enterprise Challenge Pakistan is of utmost importance which is why it has become Pakistan’s largest business challenge for school children in the short span of two years. We need to engage our budding entrepreneurs from a very early age as they have the potential to resolve the economic challenges and bring about an immensely noticeable change in the country’s economy.”
In 2018 SEED Ventures is expected to reach 70 schools and over 1000 young people. This is a significant achievement by SEED to be able to extend their delivery across every region of Pakistan, reaching many more young people from more remote and under-served areas of the country. News Desk
