PTCL Group & PPAF Expand Women Empowerment Program 'Ba-Ikhtiar'

• PTCL Group and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) are launching an expansion of their Ba-Ikhtiar women empowerment program
• The signing was done by PTCL & Ufone 4G CEO Hatem Bamatraf and PPAF CEO Nadir Gul Barech

At the GITEX Global 2025 event in Dubai, the PTCL Group, in collaboration with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), revealed an expansion of their flagship women empowerment program, Ba-Ikhtiar.

The contract was signed by Hatem Bamatraf, President and Group CEO of PTCL & Ufone 4G and Nadir Gul Barech, CEO of PPAF, which highlighted PTCL's commitment towards inclusive development and digital empowerment in Pakistan.

The Ba-Ikhtiar program was initially launched to assist 100 poor women entrepreneurs of Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but it will be expanded now to 23 flood affected cities of the country.

The program's objective is to provide training for digital and entrepreneurial skills to over 2300 women in order to enhance their capacity to generate income, and consequently improve their prospects for sustainable social and economic development.

The scheme provides a mix of digital literacy, financial management, and vocational skills training in fields like stitching, pottery, handicrafts, food preservation, and organic cosmetics.

Participants benefit from PTCL Group's digital ecosystem and PPAF's grassroots networks to access the equipment and platforms required to convert their skills into viable livelihoods.

Hatem, PTCL & Ufone 4G Presidents and Group CEO, stated that the Group continues to leverage its digital assets to empower underprivileged groups through programs such as Ba-Ikhtiar, which has emerged as a model of sustainable empowerment.

PPAF CEO Nadir emphasized that increasing the program is a mutual endeavor to empower women of disadvantaged communities to gain economic independence through social development coupled with technological innovation.

The Ba-Ikhtiar program emphasizes PTCL Group and PPAF's collective initiative to develop a digitally inclusive Pakistan by enabling women with skills, technology, and prospects of economic opportunity.