PESHAWAR: The women entrepreneurs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have urged young female traders to play their role in strengthening local economy by taking active part in business activities.

Sharing their experiences after a two-week exposure visit to four big cities of Punjab province, they said that women could play vital role in boosting economy.

They said that the visit for 20 businesswomen was arranged by Women Business Development Centre (WBDC), Peshawar in collaboration with Pakistan Transition Initiative (PTI).

They said that the exposure visit to Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Bahawalpur was aimed at developing linkage between the women entrepreneurs of the province and stakeholders from other markets.

The stakeholders included traders, skilled craftsmen, suppliers of raw material and whole sellers and retailers.

`During the visit, we were provided with an opportunity to hold linkage meetings in these cities, conduct market survey, meet skilled artisans and get training on trends in handicraft sector,` they added.

Faiza, a manufacturer of handmade domestic items, told this scribe that during the visit they got a lot of information regarding introducing new goods, raw material and range of businesses.

She said that she was in the business of embroidery, which had a high production cost. She said that purchasing raw material from big markets could increase the margin of their profit.

Sana Nazir, a fashion designer, said that she was a newcomer in the entrepreneurship and the visit was beneficial for her. She said that during the visit they got information about increasing business. She said that such visits should be arranged for more women traders through WBDC.

Rohi Bano, who makes traditional burqa (vell), said that the visit was of geat importance for women entrepreneurs of the province. She said that she had been in the business for last three years but she lacked resources for conducting such visit.