LAHORE – Facebook on Monday announced its partnership with Idea Coreron Ka, a reality show that gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their ideas to potential investors. The partnership will see six of Pakistan’s most promising Facebook community group leaders featured in the latest season of Idea Coreron Ka.
Over the course of six episodes, each community leader will have the opportunity to share their plans and vision for their communities with a national audience. Each community leader will receive a grant of up to USD$20,000 to bring their vision to life.
The six community leaders that will be featured on Idea Coreron Ka are: Binish Umair (Karachi Schools Guide), Saba Mohsin Shaikh (Karachi Chefs at Home (KCH), Asma Omer (Marham), Rabia Aziz-Rizvi (Special Needs Pakistan), Kanwal Ahmed (Soul Sisters Pakistan),and Nadia Patel Gangjee (Sheops).
“We’ve been inspired by the many positive stories of what happens when people come together to support each other – from women entrepreneurs and school teachers to families with special needs. That’s why we’re committed to helping Pakistanis build community and are delighted to be announcing this partnership with Idea Coreron Ka,” said Clair Deevy, APAC Director of Community Affairs, APAC.
“More than 1 billion people use Facebook Groups every month. These groups help people build safe, supportive communities and strengthen existing ones. Community leaders play a vital role because their passion and dedication help to foster, form and strengthen the community. We want to ensure we give our community leaders in Pakistan the support they need to create positive, meaningful impact in their communities”.
Two of the community leaders featured on Idea Coreron Ka, Nadia Patel Gangjee (Sheops) and Kanwal Ahmed (Soul Sisters Pakistan), have also been awarded fellowships in the first global Facebook Community Leadership Program. 116 people from around the world have been selected into the program as community leaders in residence, fellows or youth participants. As part of the program, Gangjee and Ahmed will receive training, mentorship and guidance from Facebook. Over the course of the year, they will spend time at Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, working with the team to help develop their community initiatives.
Facebook also recently launched Community Leader Circles in Pakistan – a global programme that gives community leaders the opportunity to come together to share best practices, participate in trainings and workshops, support one another, and meet in person on an ongoing basis.
Idea Coreron Ka Finalists (Community Leaders)
Binish Umair is the founder of Karachi Schools Guide – a community that provides a unified platform to bridge the gap between parents, teachers, educators and students in order to bring them on a single page for an exchange of healthy information related to the field of education and activities which will aid to the constructive development of kids. The community has 92K+ members.
Saba Mohsin Shaikh is the founder of Karachi Chefs at Home (KCH), a female-only Facebook group where members share a love for food and cooking. Women share their tried and tested recipes, and through the group these have been compiled into 3 books known as Tasty Treasures Volume 1,2 and 3. The community has 135K+ members.
Asma Omer is the co-founder of Marham, a community created with an aim to provide quick medical help to the patients in terms of right doctor identification, sharing quick access points of the doctors and other such problems. The community has 100K+ members.
Rabia Aziz-Rizvi is the founder of Special Needs Pakistan – a platform and a resource network for parents, siblings, families and friends of all those who need extra love, attention or care. The group has 6K+ members.
Kanwal Ahmed is the founder of Soul Sisters Pakistan – a community formed with the intention to provide an online support system for every Pakistani woman, regardless of where she lives. Although the primary focus remains to be able to discuss women’s issues and networking with like-minded individuals, it has also evolved into an information and entertainment avenue with its own blog that periodically features stories of group members. The community has 54K+ members.
Nadia Patel Gangjee is the founder of Sheops, Pakistan Pakistan’s first women’s marketplace, facilitating women entrepreneurs and women-oriented businesses to start and scale their business leveraging technology. Sheops is also a bustling Facebook Group of 100,000+ connecting women buyers and sellers.
