Helping Impact-First Women-led Businesses Soar
Next cohort begins Jan 2021–Applications are closed!
About CaterpillHERs
CaterpillHERs is a social enterprise that provides women-led businesses access to business curriculum, training, support network, and mentorship. We provide them with all the necessary resources to refine their idea, find their product/market fit, and prepare them for incubation, acceleration, and funding within their local region and beyond.
Business Curriculum
We provide structured business curriculum to help social entrepreneurs refine or build their business model, impact theory, scaling methodologies and investment readiness. The curriculum is sector agnostic and is designed to deliver intricate understanding of the key elements of starting a social venture and the core foundations of social entrepreneurship.
Mentorship
Our mentors are the secret sauce to our success recipe. Our local and international mentors accompany you throughout your journey and act as your personal advisors. We matchmake mentors on the basis of your business goals and needs and provide high touch support to make sure your business needs are met as you go through this journey with us.
Support Network
Entrepreneurship is a lonely journey and hence it’s important for you to have a network of courageous women social entrepreneurs who have been there and done that. Our partners and friends provide a close-knit support network where you are bound to cross paths with sheroes of social entrepreneurship within your own region and beyond.
Featured Mentors
Whether it is just an insightful advice or a high touch support throughout our designated cohorts, our mentor gets it. Here are some of the industry veterans and content experts who will be providing support to our founders.
Muhammad Waqas is the CEO and Co-founder at WonderTree. WonderTree is a company that develops AR based games for the physiotherapy and education of children with special needs. They are making education and development for these children affordable, accessible and efficient.
Before WonderTree he was running a digital marketing startup called JetPackGo and was a strategist at one of the leading advertising firms in Pakistan. He has vast experience making marketing, branding and behavioral strategies for brands like Redbull, USAID, UNDP, Dettol, Ufone, PTCL, British Council and many more
Huma is a highly organized and committed professional with an ever-deepening knowledge of social innovation, entrepreneurship and a passion to support youth. She continues to build connections with a robust network of amazing individuals throughout her career and has been involved in different projects to promote equal opportunities for all. Apart from her routine job at a Swiss INGO as their Technical Advisor, Huma Imdad is also the Co-Founder of SharingOut and Director Strategic Planning & PM at the Roshan Youth Welfare Organization where she is responsible for the supervision of the overall organization strategy and success.
She is a seasoned entrepreneur and a development practitioner with over ten years of experience in the non-profit sector. Throughout her career, she has gained diverse experience by working in Pakistan and the US in different fields such as entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, education, voice and accountability, health, women’s economic and political empowerment, violence against women, food security, and peace promotion.
Huma has also provided her services as a lead facilitator at the World Bank Youth Summits held in DC. And she has also served as a stage lead at the Global Nexus Summits 2018-2019 at the UN HQ, New York. She continues to provide mentorship and training to social entrepreneurs from around the world and is super active in representing her country and skills on numerous panel discussions and initiatives.
Huma is in the process of receiving her MS in Development Studies and is also an MBA.
Eram is a self-directed enthusiastic Entrepreneur and an Educationist with a genuine interest of fostering cognitive and social growth for the youth. Currently, she is serving as Asst. Prof. and Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Development at DHA Suffa University.
She is a seasoned technology executive, award-winning professor and research scholar. Best described as an entrepreneurial professor, Eram has spent more than 20 years working with high growth technology companies, universities and industry associations on the commercialization of ideas.
Her work portfolio consists of working experience with organizations like Hewlett Packard (HP), IBM and also with local and foreign universities. Within Pakistan some to mention are; IBA, IoBM, SZABIST, PAF KIET, Bahria University and DHA Suffa University. She is also an active member of various local and international professional bodies which include IEEEP, QPSP (Quality & Productivity Society of Pakistan), IRMA USA (Information Resource Management Association), OPEN (Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America), Founder Institute, and JumpStart Pakistan.
Shirin’s passion for an equitable educational and social landscape continues to be evident in her professional and volunteer work. After successfully completing projects in education in Tanzania, Azerbaijan, and the United States, Shirin is leading projects on family-friendly workplaces and Pakistan’s investment landscape in partnership with the IFC at the Pakistan Business Council. Prior to her move, Shirin worked alongside the founders of growing social impact start-ups focused on community development in the UAE. These included BizWorld UAE, an experiential learning focused entrepreneurship program catered to students aged 7 – 15 as well as The Mawada Project, aimed at creating service-learning experiences under the themes of education, migration and refugees, special needs and sustainability. She also served as the Participant Co-Chair for e7 Banat, Daughters of the Emirates, an initiative looking to instill social entrepreneurial skills among female youth of the country.
Shirin is also the Team Lead at Green Box working with youth to equip them with the right skills needed for solutions to challenges in the 21st century. Shirin holds a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Babson College and an undergraduate degree in Economics & Finance from SUNY Plattsburgh.
Faiza Yousuf is a technologist with over a decade of experience in building products and teams. She is an award-winning community leader and the force behind WomenInTechPK. She co-founded CodeGirls, a community-funded coding boot camp for girls, and runs the online education program for Blockchain and AI from CryptoChicksPakistan.
She leads the product development wing at Genetech Solutions and runs a consulting practice as a Product Management Expert. She is a top-rated freelancer on Upwork with the honor to be part of Upwork’s first-ever social impact report. She is also working with Pasha’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee for improving gender parity in Pakistan’s tech ecosystem.
Faiza is a well-known speaker and often speaks at both national and internal conferences. She loves to read and enjoys writing about tools and practices.
Sidra Jalil is a Community Builder and Founder of a community organization, InspireMill. She is a tech graduate with strong expertise in the domain of Marketing, Research and Communication. She has been working in the industry primarily with Technology and Social Sector for over 14 years in a diverse domain and last 8 years particularly with Social Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Pakistan both as an Entrepreneur and Intrapreneur. She has worked with Code for Pakistan, OPEN Islamabad and Internet Society, Islamabad Chapter as a key community lead where she used to organize boot-camps, workshops, Special Interest Group around startup problems, networking events, motivational talks and forums to address social enterprise issues.
She has worked on several youth and women empowerment initiatives, conducted diverse hackathon, innovation challenges and pitching competition to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She is engaged these days with National Incubation Center Islamabad to bring together an Agri Innovation Challenge and Hackathon.
Hira Wajahat leads the Programs & Projects team at Stimulus with a focus on sustainability, clean-tech and innovation, she is the Pakistan National Lead for Climate Launchpad, a global green business ideas competition. She also actively engaged as a business mentor and coach, consulting with and facilitating trainings for start-ups and new business ventures.
Over the last 10 years, she has had the opportunity to work with an array of organizations across various industries: energy, FMCGs, pharma, agribusiness, healthcare, education, media & NGOs/NPOs and has been involved in the initiation of two entrepreneurial ventures that are running successfully. Her simultaneous exposure to corporate, government, education and development sectors has led her to believe in the importance of systems thinking and the benefits of partnerships for value addition.
Dr. Faryal Razzaq is an accomplished academician, master trainer, research consultant, blogger for national newspapers, influencer, panelist for National TV, philanthropist, EQ education evangelist and member advisory boards for few institutions including Bahria University Business school curriculum advisory committee for BBA/MBA & established & in-charge of ZAB-Curriculum advisory & Regulation of Emotion Centre (SZABIST). She is a mentor for the National Incubation Centre, board member Accountability lab, fellow Founder Institute, member of Community Resilience Research Network by SDPI & won a grant. She also won Women SDG Challenge cup at Hackathon 2019, Scout for Amazon Web Services (AWS), approved trainer for Google signature #IamRemarkable, was selected for #StratupFridays & 100 days’ action plan by The World Bank for #GirlLearnWomenEarn initiative. She is founder of The FEEEL, Pakistan’s first digital company working on emotional preventive care through self-help coping strategies. She has 5 copy rights from IPO, Pakistan.
Muhammad Waqas is the CEO and Co-founder at WonderTree. WonderTree is a company that develops AR based games for the physiotherapy and education of children with special needs. They are making education and development for these children affordable, accessible and efficient.
Before WonderTree he was running a digital marketing startup called JetPackGo and was a strategist at one of the leading advertising firms in Pakistan. He has vast experience making marketing, branding and behavioral strategies for brands like Redbull, USAID, UNDP, Dettol, Ufone, PTCL, British Council and many more
Huma is a highly organized and committed professional with an ever-deepening knowledge of social innovation, entrepreneurship and a passion to support youth. She continues to build connections with a robust network of amazing individuals throughout her career and has been involved in different projects to promote equal opportunities for all. Apart from her routine job at a Swiss INGO as their Technical Advisor, Huma Imdad is also the Co-Founder of SharingOut and Director Strategic Planning & PM at the Roshan Youth Welfare Organization where she is responsible for the supervision of the overall organization strategy and success.
She is a seasoned entrepreneur and a development practitioner with over ten years of experience in the non-profit sector. Throughout her career, she has gained diverse experience by working in Pakistan and the US in different fields such as entrepreneurship, youth empowerment, education, voice and accountability, health, women’s economic and political empowerment, violence against women, food security, and peace promotion.
Huma has also provided her services as a lead facilitator at the World Bank Youth Summits held in DC. And she has also served as a stage lead at the Global Nexus Summits 2018-2019 at the UN HQ, New York. She continues to provide mentorship and training to social entrepreneurs from around the world and is super active in representing her country and skills on numerous panel discussions and initiatives.
Huma is in the process of receiving her MS in Development Studies and is also an MBA.
Eram is a self-directed enthusiastic Entrepreneur and an Educationist with a genuine interest of fostering cognitive and social growth for the youth. Currently, she is serving as Asst. Prof. and Director, Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Development at DHA Suffa University.
She is a seasoned technology executive, award-winning professor and research scholar. Best described as an entrepreneurial professor, Eram has spent more than 20 years working with high growth technology companies, universities and industry associations on the commercialization of ideas.
Her work portfolio consists of working experience with organizations like Hewlett Packard (HP), IBM and also with local and foreign universities. Within Pakistan some to mention are; IBA, IoBM, SZABIST, PAF KIET, Bahria University and DHA Suffa University. She is also an active member of various local and international professional bodies which include IEEEP, QPSP (Quality & Productivity Society of Pakistan), IRMA USA (Information Resource Management Association), OPEN (Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs of North America), Founder Institute, and JumpStart Pakistan.
Shirin’s passion for an equitable educational and social landscape continues to be evident in her professional and volunteer work. After successfully completing projects in education in Tanzania, Azerbaijan, and the United States, Shirin is leading projects on family-friendly workplaces and Pakistan’s investment landscape in partnership with the IFC at the Pakistan Business Council. Prior to her move, Shirin worked alongside the founders of growing social impact start-ups focused on community development in the UAE. These included BizWorld UAE, an experiential learning focused entrepreneurship program catered to students aged 7 – 15 as well as The Mawada Project, aimed at creating service-learning experiences under the themes of education, migration and refugees, special needs and sustainability. She also served as the Participant Co-Chair for e7 Banat, Daughters of the Emirates, an initiative looking to instill social entrepreneurial skills among female youth of the country.
Shirin is also the Team Lead at Green Box working with youth to equip them with the right skills needed for solutions to challenges in the 21st century. Shirin holds a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Babson College and an undergraduate degree in Economics & Finance from SUNY Plattsburgh.
Faiza Yousuf is a technologist with over a decade of experience in building products and teams. She is an award-winning community leader and the force behind WomenInTechPK. She co-founded CodeGirls, a community-funded coding boot camp for girls, and runs the online education program for Blockchain and AI from CryptoChicksPakistan.
She leads the product development wing at Genetech Solutions and runs a consulting practice as a Product Management Expert. She is a top-rated freelancer on Upwork with the honor to be part of Upwork’s first-ever social impact report. She is also working with Pasha’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee for improving gender parity in Pakistan’s tech ecosystem.
Faiza is a well-known speaker and often speaks at both national and internal conferences. She loves to read and enjoys writing about tools and practices.
Sidra Jalil is a Community Builder and Founder of a community organization, InspireMill. She is a tech graduate with strong expertise in the domain of Marketing, Research and Communication. She has been working in the industry primarily with Technology and Social Sector for over 14 years in a diverse domain and last 8 years particularly with Social Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Pakistan both as an Entrepreneur and Intrapreneur. She has worked with Code for Pakistan, OPEN Islamabad and Internet Society, Islamabad Chapter as a key community lead where she used to organize boot-camps, workshops, Special Interest Group around startup problems, networking events, motivational talks and forums to address social enterprise issues.
She has worked on several youth and women empowerment initiatives, conducted diverse hackathon, innovation challenges and pitching competition to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem. She is engaged these days with National Incubation Center Islamabad to bring together an Agri Innovation Challenge and Hackathon.
Hira Wajahat leads the Programs & Projects team at Stimulus with a focus on sustainability, clean-tech and innovation, she is the Pakistan National Lead for Climate Launchpad, a global green business ideas competition. She also actively engaged as a business mentor and coach, consulting with and facilitating trainings for start-ups and new business ventures.
Over the last 10 years, she has had the opportunity to work with an array of organizations across various industries: energy, FMCGs, pharma, agribusiness, healthcare, education, media & NGOs/NPOs and has been involved in the initiation of two entrepreneurial ventures that are running successfully. Her simultaneous exposure to corporate, government, education and development sectors has led her to believe in the importance of systems thinking and the benefits of partnerships for value addition.
Dr. Faryal Razzaq is an accomplished academician, master trainer, research consultant, blogger for national newspapers, influencer, panelist for National TV, philanthropist, EQ education evangelist and member advisory boards for few institutions including Bahria University Business school curriculum advisory committee for BBA/MBA & established & in-charge of ZAB-Curriculum advisory & Regulation of Emotion Centre (SZABIST). She is a mentor for the National Incubation Centre, board member Accountability lab, fellow Founder Institute, member of Community Resilience Research Network by SDPI & won a grant. She also won Women SDG Challenge cup at Hackathon 2019, Scout for Amazon Web Services (AWS), approved trainer for Google signature #IamRemarkable, was selected for #StratupFridays & 100 days’ action plan by The World Bank for #GirlLearnWomenEarn initiative. She is founder of The FEEEL, Pakistan’s first digital company working on emotional preventive care through self-help coping strategies. She has 5 copy rights from IPO, Pakistan.
Our Partners
We are all ears!
We are seeking qualified social entrepreneurs, mentors and discovery partners every day. Reach out at hello@caterpillhers.com to know more.