Mrs. Aysha Saifuddin of Pakistan - Winner of the DHL YES Awards!!!

PAKISTAN ZINDABAD
Leading social entrepreneur in Asia Pacific honored at DHL YES Awards

Winner of inaugural regional DHL Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability
(YES) Awards lauded for work in helping Pakistani women fight poverty.

Singapore, 30 August 2007: DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company,
today announced that Mrs Aysha Saifuddin of Pakistan is the leading social entrepreneur among five Asia Pacific countries participating in the inaugural DHL Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (YES) Awards.

Aysha, aged 35, emerged as the overall regional winner following rounds of deliberation by the Awards’ International Council – a panel of renowned public personalities associated with social entrepreneurship, public policy and international relations – for her leading work in championing gender equality and empowerment in Pakistan. Since founding the Kaarvan Crafts Foundation in 2003, Aysha has helped to improve the lives of thousands of women entrepreneurs from low-income communities by providing them with market access and retail know-how for their products. In equipping the women with management training, business skills and employment opportunities, Kaarvan Crafts Foundation has successfully empowered these women to make general household decisions more independently, while helping them to supplement their household income by nearly 30 percent. The Foundation aims to double its outreach to 5000 women entrepreneurs by 2010.

She was one of the five outstanding individuals – including Ms Pinky Sikder, Mr. Illac Angelo Diaz, Mrs Areena Ng and Ms Kritaya Sreesunpagit – who were earlier named as the national-level winners of the DHL YES Awards representing Bangladesh, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand respectively. These five social entrepreneurs were awarded the accolade for their excellent business initiatives to foster social change in line with one or more of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Aysha received a cash prize of US$10,000, as well as the regional trophy, at an award
ceremony in Singapore, which was attended by dignitaries and representatives from NGOs. The other finalists each received US$5,000. Ms Erna Witoelar, UN Special Ambassador for the MDGs in Asia and the Pacific, said, “The five social entrepreneurs, who are individuals of high-calibre, are shining examples of how
an individual’s hard work can help benefit communities through innovative ideas. Everyone has a goal to play in helping societies achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The corporate world, in particular, plays a vital catalytic role in driving and sustaining the momentum to bring about substantial change. Gestures of recognition like the DHL YES Awards will help drive social entrepreneurship in this region.”

DHL firmly believes that social entrepreneurs can play an instrumental role in finding innovative solutions to social problems and removing barriers to growth. While social entrepreneurship is a prevalent concept in Europe and North America, it is still a nascent development in Asia Pacific. Only Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore are among the top-20 ranked countries/regions on the Responsible Competitiveness Index1. Through the YES Awards, DHL hopes to promote the fledging movement in the region.

“Through their meaningful work, the five finalists have made significant contributions to their societies. They make excellent role models for anyone who wishes to pursue a social cause, and profiling their work would help boost awareness about social entrepreneurship in Asia Pacific,” said Dan McHugh, Acting CEO, DHL Express – Asia Pacific. “By initiating the YES Awards, DHL hopes to provide an annual platform for young entrepreneurs to share their innovative ideas to improve the people’s lives in their societies. With the success of the inaugural awards, we hope to encourage even more participation from young business leaders next year.”
1 Please see report entitled “The State of Responsible Competitiveness 2007”. 13 of the top-20 ranked countries on the Responsible Competitiveness Index (RCI) are European countries, with the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway) and the UK taking the top six placings.

The DHL YES Awards is part of DHL’s community investment program, which also includes
disaster management and supporting future generations. Globally, DHL has a partnership with UNICEF supporting their worldwide fight to reduce child mortality through long-term logistical and financial assistance. DHL is also supporting the UN Development Program (UNDP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the area of disaster management. DHL is a signatory to the UN Global Compact Principles, and supports the UN Millennium Campaign.

For more details, pls visit http://www.dhl.com/publish/g0/en/about/sustainability/yes_awards.high.html