Seema Aziz

Seema Aziz (born 1950, Lahore) is a Pakistani business woman and a social activist.[1][2] She is the founder and managing director of Sefam (Bareeze) and the founder and chairperson of CARE Foundation, the country's largest educational non-profit organization.[3] [4] She is also member and a private sector member in the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade and on the global advisory board of Harvard Business school.[5][6]

Seema Aziz
Born1950
Lahore
NationalityPakistani
Alma materUniversity of Punjab, Harvard Business School
OccupationEntrepreneur, business executive , social worker
Notable work
Founder Sefam (Bareeze), CARE Foundation

Education

Seema completed her college studies from College of Home Economics. She studied BSc (Bachelors of Science) at University of Punjab; and then went on to get her L.L.B (Bachelors of Law) degree in 1987 from the same institute.[7] She has also completed her Executive Educational Program at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA

Career

She started her career when she and her brother co-founded Sefam (Bareeze), a high-end fashion retailer in 1985.[8][9] Their goal was to create Pakistan's first high quality fabric. At the time, there was no Pakistani brand creating export quality fabric and that became the goal of Seema's startup.[10] By the mid 1990s Bareeze grew into popularity became the first textile producer to export high-quality fabrics internationally. It became one of the most successful brands of Pakistan and soon had more than 460 stores in Pakistan. It also expanded to Middle east, North America, Europe and the UK. .[11][12] Bareeze has since then expanded its chain with six new subcategories and operates with over 500 selling points worldwide.[1][13]

Seema is also a board member of Sarena, a sister industry of Sefam.[14]

Since 2011 she has served as Chairperson of TUSDEC (Technology Upgradation and Skill Development Company) and is on the governing body of TEVTA (Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority), and on the Boards for the Pakistan Fashion Design Council; Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, Mobilink Foundation and the Punjab Education Foundation.[15]

In 2018, Seema Aziz was chosen as a member to be on the Council of Business Leaders formed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. The CBL is headed by the prime minister and is aimed to supervise implementation of decisions for exports and account deficit issues.[16]

Philanthropic work

Aziz is a well-known social activist and philanthropist. She founded the NGO, CARE Foundation Pakistan in 1988 as a non-profit, educational organization. The NGO aspires to provide quality education to the underprivileged children in Pakistan.[17][18] She started this NGO in Lahore as a result of a destructive flood that hit Pakistan.[19] She started off with building one school and has now CARE Foundation has grown to build 888 schools thought Pakistan. Her NGO has currently 285,000 students enrolled in schools and is one of the largest educational NGOs in Pakistan.[20][21] It currently has over 130,000 graduates and over 3,775 teachers. The organization also operate a scholarship program that supports students all over Pakistan.[22][23] CARE has also started a dedicated Teacher Training Center (TTC).[24][25]

Seema is also working with another educational NGO Tele Taleem, where she is on the advisory board.[26]

Awards and achievements

Due to her philanthropic efforts, Seema Aziz was named Philanthropist of the Year by Hello! Pakistan Magazine. The Forbes also published an article on her life and achievements titled "Fashioning A New Future For Pakistan."

She also an award winner of Barclay's UK Woman of the Year Award in 2016. The award recognized her extraordinary efforts for contributing to education in Pakistan. According to the Women of the Year, "Seema’s extraordinary contribution to education in Pakistan, based on her belief that every child has a right to an education. She set up the CARE foundation after discovering many children in the countryside had no school to go. The charity has given hundreds of thousands of children a brighter future."[27]

References
  1. "Seema Aziz | WEF | Women Economic Forum". WEF. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  2. "Tag: Seema Aziz". The Spectator Australia. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  3. "Essentials of Modern/New Marketing". Daily Times. 25 September 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  4. Admin (26 May 2017). "Seema Aziz is an industrialist". Musliminspire. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  5. "PBIT's Board of Directors reconstituted – Business Recorder". Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  6. "Seema Aziz". events.development.asia. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  7. "Seema Aziz – Creating Emerging Markets – Harvard Business School". www.hbs.edu. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  8. "Empower Women – #HerStory | Seema Aziz". EmpowerWomen. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  9. "Discover". Sefam. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  10. "Seema Aziz; Wonder Woman of Retail and the force behind Bareeze". MoreNews.pk. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  11. "Fashioning A New Future For Pakistan". Forbes. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  12. Muzaffar, Erum Noor. "Say yes to women power". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  13. "Seema Aziz – Paperazzi". paperazzi.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  14. "Pages – About Us". Sarena Textiles Industries. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  15. "Seema Aziz – Care Pakistan". www.carepakistan.org.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  16. Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (5 October 2018). "PM forms Council of Business Leaders". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  17. Says, Shan (17 December 2019). "Empowerment Through Education | Conversations@Jazz". Digital Pakistan. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  18. "Our Pride: Pakistani Female Achievers". The Matrix Mag. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  19. "Beautifying Pakistan with Hope: Seema Aziz". www.scoonews.com. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  20. "Seema Aziz, Founder of Care Pakistan on BBC World News | Curzon PR". Curzon PR London. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  21. "Our Partners". Teach the World Foundation. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  22. "About Us – Care Foundation". Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  23. "Educating a nation: Seema Aziz is giving Pakistani children a brighter future". The National. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  24. "Pakistani entrepreneur, philanthropist Seema Aziz". RNZ. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  25. Mar 4; Ruchi |, 2013 | Society with. "Seema Aziz | LCAHouston | International Society News". LCAHouston. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  26. "ADVISORY BOARD | TeleTaleem". www.teletaleem.com. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
  27. Limited, Alamy. "Stock Photo – Seema Aziz, who won the Barclays Women of the Year Award, at the 2016 Women of the Year Lunch & Awards, at the InterContinental London Park Lane, London". Alamy. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
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