OPEN and Acumen Join Forces to Promote Pakistani Entrepreneurs Driving Social Change

On July 29, the Organization of Pakistani Entrepreneurs (OPEN) and the global nonprofit venture fund Acumen will kick off a new alliance to promote and empower Pakistani entrepreneurs creating impact around the world. The announcement will take place at OPEN’s Global Retreat in Washington D.C., where Acumen Pakistan Country Director, Naeem Zamindar, will address new ways of disrupting poverty in Pakistan to an audience of Open Charter Members and Chapter executive team members.

Founded in 1998 with a mission to build a global network of Pakistani entrepreneurs, OPEN’s primary focus continues to be on promoting and enabling high-impact entrepreneurship in key diaspora communities. Today, the organization boasts an international presence of more than eleven country chapters and hundreds of members committed to developing and mentoring tomorrow’s leaders.

At the heart of the collaboration will be a shared commitment between the two organizations to raise awareness of Pakistan’s emerging global business leaders, social entrepreneurs and change makers. Acumen will be able to leverage OPEN to increase engagement and awareness of its work among OPEN members while providing opportunities for members to advise, mentor and support social enterprises within Acumen’s portfolio as well as its global community of Fellows.

Acumen opened its office in Pakistan in 2002 and, since then, has invested more than USD $16 million in companies building sustainable models to move Pakistanis out of poverty, such as affordable housing provider, Ansaar Management Company, and Nasra Public Schools. With staff in both Karachi and Lahore, Naeem and his team are actively involved in the development of entrepreneurship across the country. Globally, Acumen has invested over USD $100 million since 2001 in 92 companies using entrepreneurial approaches to solving issues of poverty around the world and its portfolio of social enterprises have impacted more than four million lives in Pakistan alone.

Prior to joining Acumen as Pakistan Country Director, Naeem Zamindar was the CEO of Wateen, where he restructured and refocused Pakistan’s leading communications and cloud services provider. He began his career as a founding team of Mobilink then did his MBA at INSEAD.  He returned to Pakistan in early 2004 to launch the Art of Living, an organization enabling the self-actualization of human potential for happiness and then returned to Mobilink to lead the Strategy, Program Management Office and Business Development functions. He sits on the Advisory Board’s of The Center for Entrepreneurial Development, the business incubators Plan9 and Nest I/O, the leadership development organization AIESEC and the Punjab Vocational Training Council.

About the OPEN Charter Member Retreat

The 2016 OPEN Charter Member Retreat on July 29 – 31 at Lansdowne Resort in Northern Virginia is around the corner. This is the largest OPEN event that connects all 12 chapters across 4 countries and highly valuable for our charter membership. Register now!