Background:In a country like Pakistan, with immense entrepreneurial flair but weak support system, the developmental hurdles faced by budding entrepreneurs are substantial. Providing support to entrepreneurs seed pipeline of future enterprises, create a risk-taking culture, long-term economic development and employment creation. The objective of the process should be to support the emerging entrepreneurs who acts as a catalysts of supporting the economic and growth system and start a cycle for change and innovation. The resultant created opportunities will help in developing a more enlightened and powerful population. It is ill-fated for a country like Pakistan that the prevailing social environment and market conditions prove to be a great barrier for innovation. The inherent culture does not nurture thrive for experimentation and creativity, plus promote a risk averse mind set which are resultants of the political, economic and security environment in the country. Ideal Case: Government Role in Entrepreneurial DevelopmentIdeally, for any country to prosper towards creating a knowledge economy and to create a culture promoting experimentation, Government plays a key role in creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem. Friendly policies and procedures implemented by the government are one of the most prominent factors of creating a positive entrepreneurial environment. It will not only be acting as a support for entrepreneurial ventures but could also spur economic growth and support the struggling venture capital industry. Moreover, Governments have a very important role in enforcing laws and regulations that link institutional development and the entrepreneurial endeavor and in creating an environment that will encourage entrepreneurs to develop business and new ventures.Literature also supports the fact that, Government policy can influence the market frame and create entrepreneurship friendly culture that promotes people to take risks and start their own businesses (Gnyawali & Fogel, 1994). However, entrepreneurs will be discouraged from building a new firm if they have to keep up with excessive numbers of rules and procedures (Fogel, 2001). Further, government is depicted as a barrier to the entrepreneurial activities (Kouriloff, 2000). In the research of environmental factors affecting entrepreneurial activities of Maori entrepreneurs of New Zealand, Zapalska, Dabb, and Perry (2003) showed that government policies and procedures such as restrictions on imports and exports, entry barriers, and procedural requirements for registration and licensing produce much more negative effects than positive effects on entrepreneurship. Hence Government has to play their part in order to promote the favorable factors necessary for the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Major areas where the Government policies and procedures implemented are:

Government Policies and Procedures:

Restrictions on imports and exports

Provision of bankruptcy laws

Entry barriers

Procedural requirements for registration and licensing

Number of institutions for entrepreneurs to report to Rules and regulations governing entrepreneurial activities

Laws to protect proprietary rights

Activities of the government on access to funding include but are not limited to: Improving the investment environment and conducting self-assessment of the entrepreneurial landscape to ensure the appropriate funding strategies and policy levers are in place Encouraging the formation of capital funds, such as venture capital and private equity fundForms of Entrepreneurial encouraging policies:

Policies that governments employ to encourage venture capital and entrepreneurial activity take two broad forms: those that ensure that the economic environment is conducive to entrepreneurial activity and venture capital investments, and those that directly invest in companies and funds. First, it is necessary to ensure that entrepreneurship itself is an attractive option. Often, in their eagerness to get to the "fun stuff" of handing out money, public leaders neglect the importance of setting the table, or creating a favorable environment. Such efforts to create the right climate for entrepreneurship are likely to have several dimensions. Ensuring that creative ideas can move easily from universities and government laboratories is critically important. However, many entrepreneurs come from corporate positions, not from academia. Studies have documented that, for these individuals, the attractiveness of entrepreneurial activity is very sensitive to tax policy. Also important is ensuring that the law allows firms to enter into the needed contractsfor instance, with a potential financier or a source of technologyand that these contracts can be enforced.

A second importantthough very challengingrole for government is to intervene directly in the entrepreneurial process. But these programs must be executed carefully to be effective. Among the key avenues to success are: Being sure to let the market provide direction when offering subsidies to stimulate entrepreneurial and venture activity. Understanding the need for, and active encouragement of, strong interconnections with entrepreneurs and investors overseas, rather than solely focusing on domestic activity. Recognizing that the temptation for individuals and organizations to take steps that benefit themselves, rather than the broader social good, is universal and minimizing that danger.Whereas, the government must facilitate the ideally structured entrepreneurial ecosystem by:

Education and training: Revising educational curriculum in order to provide equal opportunities for boys and girls, training programs for both male and female teachers to foster entrepreneurial culture. Flexible training programs accommodating peoples multiple responsibilities. Mentoring programs and encouraging people and provide support.Friendly social environment: Providing environment that promotes people to take risky initiatives rather than being hesitant about the societys reaction, promoting females to participate equally with men, creating social awareness and rewarding entrepreneurs and last but not the least giving access to technology in order to broaden their views.Access to Market: providing leverage new businesses to move/ gain access to national as well as international markets by identifying strategic alliances, trade shows etc.Financial Support: By improving channels of funding and creating venture capital firmsPolicy and legal infrastructure: giving equal opportunity to start a new business with ease and policies directed towards facilitating the functioning of the startups.

Current Governments role In Pakistan: Pakistan is an emerging economy and it has immense potential to contribute towards the global economic growth, but since its inception the country is striving to create a knowledge driven economy that will provide the opportunities for innovation but it has failed to implement a sound, legal framework and regulations encouraging development due to lack of democratic institutions. We have rarely witnessed entrepreneurs leading from the front in order to fuel the economy, nor government ever focused on the importance of the matter.Education systemPurpose of education is just to get a good job and keep serving the others for the rest of life. No norm of building an empire and asking others to serve you is established here. Educational structure revolves merely around literary work in lieu of practical skill development. Due to entirely theoretical educational system and limited autonomy, human prudence has been muffled in this part of the world. People having no independent thought process are short of innovative ideas to go beyond imagination. Government has set up a very low budget for educational sector that has hindered many institutions from gaining access to the required resources necessary for an improved educational experience for the students.Poor Economic StructureRisk of failure is a very important factor playing a critical role in discouraging entrepreneurs from initiating business extension plans. Menace of economic structure and fear of losing assets have made the people acquiescent. They are pleased with what they have, and do not strive for excellence, as it demands hard work and time dedication. There is a fear of losing money and job because of poor market and economic conditions. Governments inability to control economic factors has made it hard for entrepreneurs to start business because of high startup and business cost. There is no pliant procedure of government funding/loans in order to encourage the youth to shape their ideas into reality. Power shortage is another factor hindering business growth and discouraging entrepreneurship.Policies and proceduresIn Pakistan, the policies have always been biased towards the high class of country. This is true of the economic policies which have been biased towards the high scale sector. Rather than entrepreneurship, policies are planned for investors and investments became the norm. Incentives were offered to attract investment. Such incentives included licensed monopolies in protected markets, cheap land and credit and subsidized inputs.

Laws and RegulationsHeavy income taxes and compliance to the state laws critically affects entrepreneurs and squeezes their profits, leaving them with insufficient funds to flourish their business. Threat of criminals and mafia also inflicts the interests of the newly established businessmen. Government should develop tax free zones, make business regulatory procedures more convenient, and provide life security to all in order to encourage investors.Current Entrepreneurial activities in Pakistan:1. SMEDA:Currently, it is the only organization of government that is supporting SMEs in the currently. Government does provide support to the SMEs but the pace is small over all. There is need of group support of politicians, business organizations, trade organizations and economists to SME sector in Pakistan.2. The Punjab Government has helped boost the economic activity of startups by setting up PITB (Punjab Information Technology Board), which has launched various innovative initiatives such as Plan9 incubator, Plan9 TechHub and IT Training Academy. 3. The KPK Government has launched initiative to promote entrepreneurship and job creation under the Khud Kalafat Loan Scheme and on a national level the PMs Youth Business Loan Scheme is the only initiative supporting entrepreneurs. 4. The P@SHA Social Innovation Fund is a notable initiative, seeded by Google, and managed by P@SHA that awards small grants of around $5000-$8000 to impact based startups. 5. Corporations such as Shell and Google have been active in this space with the Shell Tameer initiative and GBG/GDG respectively.6. There are number of competitions and forums within Pakistan that are mostly local chapters of global brands (Startup Weekend, Startup Cup, Startup Grind etc). 7. Many universities, with support from the Higher Education Commission, have set up incubators to support university-level entrepreneurs and are working to strengthen linkages between industry and the academia. 8. Incubators such as Plan9, The Foundation by LUMS and the upcoming P@SHA Tech Incubator have proven to be very instrumental in supporting this ecosystem along with Accelerators (Invest2Innovate, PlanX) and Coworking spaces (TechHub, DotZero and BaseCamp).

Ideal Case: Government Role in Entrepreneurial DevelopmentHow government can support entrepreneurial ventures (Specifically in Pakistan) a. Reinventing the Role of Government and Ensuring Rule of Law No society can progress without developing rule of law Once rule of law is strictly in place, the state has no favorites and rent seeking efforts dissipate Market competition does not take place on the basis of product development and consumer preferences but on unfair practices (influencing the government) Returning the government to take seriously its magisterial function has to be an important first stepb. Removing the Instruments of Rent Seeking There is a need to stop the policy of sector-picking A need for civil service reforms to eradicate corruption and rent seeking Government must get out of the business of land development The cooperative housing society act should be reexamined before use Land acquisition law should be tightenedc. A New Growth Strategy Pakistans growth strategy should be the subject of some debate. There may be a case for moving away from the current focus on government planning, production to a more market- and commerce-based approach The new approach would be more aligned with globalization, creativity, and innovation d. Building Growth Citiesd. Building Growth Cities Policy, research and thinking need to accept the role of citiesas engines of growth Decentralization needs to be strengthened to allow cities adequate ownership of their land and resources City management should be professional, consultative and accountable Commercialization policy should be reviewed to remove the bias towards engaging in businesse. Releasing the energy of the domestic sector Pakistan has a very large market of over 160 million people waiting to be exploited. Administrations should review their zoning and commercialization rules and regulations to facilitate and promote commercial development Commercial activities may be treated at par with industry in terms of taxation and other government policies.

Way Forward Public Sector 1. Involvement of the Public Sector/Government Bodies If the government develops a mandate of helping promote social enterprises it can create a strong support system for social entrepreneurship and provide an environment conducive for innovation. Finance, grants or loans should be provided to boost social entrepreneurship. At the same time enabling and nurturing new ideas of philanthropy will help reduce entrepreneurial dependency on unsustainable donor driven funding. Government bodies at the regional level can also help link social enterprises and create community alliances which can lead to social enterprise hubs at a regional as well as national level. A policy should be introduced where both public and private schools in the country add some elementary concepts of entrepreneurship to their curriculum. The government should also work towards streamlining bureaucracy impeding the development of start-ups and growth of social ventures. Creation of alternative legal options for the constitution of social businesses covering for-profit, not-for-profit and blended versions of the two would pave the way for progressive growth of social entrepreneurs. There should be open government procurement to social businesses, perhaps aided by a Social Impact Bond.

Private Sector: 1. Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) MFIs should expand their pool of officers able to carry out field research and assess the industry, required loan sizes and potential for non-financial services. A network should be created in order to support crowd funding initiatives. Crowd funding is a great way to start social enterprises and give people a reason to contribute to something they care about. It creates awareness of social problems at the community level and allows investors to reap non-financial rewards. Pakistans brilliant tech students need to be encouraged and provided with a platform to develop the first Pakistani designed and built crowd funding site, allowing investors to contribute directly to initiatives they feel passionately about. 2. Social Investment Funds Creating a Social Investment Fund in Pakistan can provide members from the Diaspora and the international and local communities a chance to invest in high potential social initiatives. These enterprises should be aligned with the overall mission of the social investment fund and must have a mandate that creates a deep social impact. 3. Business Leaders Leading business and policy thought leadership should focus on bottom up structured social investment targeted at multiple sectors.

Entrepreneurial Support 1. Incubators A comprehensive survey to determine the existing talent that is present in the country across a multitude of fields would help assess the future talent gaps that exist or may arise as a consequence of the drain of talent leaving the country. Incubation Centres should be expanded to provide aspiring entrepreneurs (traditional or social) with a proper environment where they can develop their ideas and find guidance, counseling and mentoring by industry experts. This should be done with private sector partnerships as collaboration would lead to sustainable growth. 2. Online Market Place Social enterprises should develop an online marketplace to present products and services to customers. This online marketplace/portal can act as a hub for all members belonging to the social entrepreneurship community for knowledge, information exchange and purchases.

Engaging the People of Pakistan 1. Connecting Communities Seminars, think tank sessions, and conferences should be arranged on the role of the Diaspora in supporting social entrepreneurs and social businesses in Pakistan where large Pakistan Diaspora have settled. An online network of global Pakistani Diaspora could create real time knowledge exchange between people and spread awareness of current projects that require funding. The Diaspora should be encouraged to invest back in Pakistan via a new Social Investment Fund as part of a structured way of contributing to their original community. 2. Promote Positive International Perceptions The people of Pakistan are the best asset in combating the negative image of the country. Social media in particular offers citizens a global opportunity to present their communities and country as a whole in a positive light. The Commission examined the potential of a citizen led campaign, tentatively titled My Pakistan, and would welcome such community based initiatives to take place. The Media The media (electronic and print) should be encouraged to give a greater balance towards good news about Pakistan, the achievements and the strengths of the country by:1) Promoting Pakistans rich history by creating awareness about its art, literature and creative fields. For this purpose, a road show that is focused on promoting the arts, crafts and creative industries of Pakistan would be beneficial. 2) A further road show based on this report will be conducted to the overall business and investment potential of the country. Investment in Youth 1) Youth employment should be integrated with the overall employment strategies for the country. 2) Industry specific requirements should be taken into account to produce a skilled workforce more relevant to that sector. 3) Legislation and taxation polices for the youth should be relaxed in order to encourage them to start small enterprises and micro-businesses. Access to funding should be made easy for the youth and the Social Investment Fund should have a special sub-fund which specifically caters to the funding needs of projects initiated by, or for, the youth. 4) Incubation centers should be established to provide business advice in the shape of mentoring and guidance. These incubation centres can also be used for running workshops and training programmes to develop the business acumen, skill and capacity of the youth. An online network of these incubation centres should be created, in order to develop a hub for business ideas. This online network can be used in order to attract potential investors to fund projects and enterprises that are initiated by the youth.

Rural Community Development 1) More even distribution of land is required for effective expansion of rural social enterprises. The government, public and private enterprises should focus on empowering the farmer and address the plight of landless farming tenancy issues. 2) Education and training to help people find jobs, match their skill set, and introduce them to innovative ways of conducting their activities.3) Social enterprises, the government, donor agencies, and investors should pool their knowledge and resources to grow and build the rural infrastructure, focus on water, health, roads, schools, sanitation, sewage, utilities, and housing. 4) To develop the grass root entrepreneurs, rural entrepreneurship awards can be held which recognize the efforts of these entrepreneurs at all income levels in the rural community. 5) Knowledge exchange to help new enterprises via partnerships and collaboration between urban and rural entrepreneurs. Empowering Women 1) A new education policy for women to improve the levels of female education and develop their business acumen at the urban and rural level. 2) Media initiatives including social media would help to change mindsets in the country so that women can be accepted in professional roles other than the traditional roles that seem to be strongly associated with their gender. 3) Social entrepreneurship policy making bodies in the country should seek to have high level of representation of women. 4) An All Pakistan Women Social Entrepreneur Network should be developed to act as a hub where exchange of knowledge between female entrepreneurs can take place. 5) Access to finance development should be part of the Social Investment Fund and priority given to them for provision of access to financing from MFIs and other financial institutions. Agricultural credit should also be available to women performing in the agricultural sector.

Formal & Informal Social Entrepreneurship Education 1) Revise primary and secondary school curriculum to boost creative thinking. It should help young people to come up with innovative concepts and solutions to problems which are the building blocks of social entrepreneurship. 2) Develop high quality university level curriculum for social entrepreneurship programs and boost academic and student exchanges both domestic and international. 3) Social entrepreneurship or entrepreneurship programs should train students on identifying social issues, come up with innovative solutions, and how to pitch proposals to investors. Policy makers, legislators, educators, sponsors, and social entrepreneurs should share better practices on how to improve the standards of education for social entrepreneurs, thinkers and visionaries. 4) Improved training and education for farmers to better utilize inputs and improve agricultural growth. Training programs for landless farmers and non-agri based rural population should be developed which focus on capacity building and developing entrepreneurial acumen.