Rizq Leads Pakistani Delegation to Social Business Day, Dhaka; Discusses Pakistan’s Social Business Future with Dr. Muhammad Yunus

Dhaka, Bangladesh
27th – 30th June

Rizq – a social enterprise committed to transforming food systems through entrepreneurship and innovation – led a high-level delegation with 24 members including entrepreneurs, development sector professionals, social business practitioners, academics, as well as young changemakers to represent Pakistan on the 16th Social Business Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The event hosted nearly 1,700 participants from 33 countries, with Pakistan’s delegation being the second largest at the event.

The Social Business Day (SBD), organised by the Yunus Center, is the largest annual gathering of social business representatives, policy makers and young changemakers from all over the world, coming together to discuss the progress made by their own countries, while seeking global networking and collaboration opportunities to further expand the social business landscape. Yunus Centre was founded by Nobel Laureate Dr. Muhammad Yunus to promote his vision for social business and forge lasting, productive relationships among social businesses worldwide. A social business, as per Dr. Yunus’ philosophy, is a business designed to solve an existing social problem through business models allowing them to create sustainable impact. Every year, Yunus Centre organises Social Business Day to celebrate and share the accumulated experiences of social business leaders and entrepreneurs who are spearheading a new path towards a sustainable and just future for the world.

This year marked the celebration of 50 years of Grameen and 20 years of the Nobel Prize awarded to Dr. Yunus. This was the second time a delegation from Pakistan has attended the prestigious event, with Rizq leading the first-ever delegation in 2025. The theme for this year, “Social Business: The Language of Peace in A Fractured World” was especially relevant for Pakistan, coming at a time when the country could use all opportunities to present itself as a leading global peacemaker.

The Pakistani delegation featured notable individuals from Pakistan’s social sector like Ms. Massarat Misbah – founder and CEO of Depilex Group, Mr. Shahid Lone – Chairman of Allah Walay Trust, Mr. Ibrahim Hassan Murad president of University of Management and Technology, Ms. Rukhsana Izhar Chairperson Rukh foundation, Rizq Co-founders, Mr. Qasim Javaid and Mr. Musa Aamir, Ms. Minahil Kashif, Program Manager from Atomcamp, Ahmed Kazi, founder and CEO Ostruce, Ms. Ayesha Hassan and Ms. Ayesha Nasir, Co-founders of Dream3, Mr. Mazhar Barlas, a senior journalist, Mohammad Musab, CEO and founder of Stray Comms, as well as a number of students. The delegation participated in different panel talks, presentations as well as visits, representing the social business and entrepreneurial ecosystem of Pakistan at a global stage, while opening up partnership and investment opportunities for the country.

The delegation was welcomed with a special dinner held by Yunus Centre prior to the conference. Alongside participating in the main conference, Rizq also had the opportunity to represent the organisation as well as Pakistan’s entire journey at SBD in front of the entire audience, including Dr. Yunus himself. The Country Forum in Dhaka, where the social business potential in the country was discussed by the delegation, alongwith an action plan to implement it. The report back from this delegation was done by Musa Aamir from Rizq, alongside representatives of 10+ other countries.

The members also attended key side-events like the 3-Zero Club Convention and Academia Dialogue. The 3-zero convention is an international gathering where youth leaders combine to discuss social business models, network, and showcase sustainability innovations to achieve Zero Poverty, Zero Unemployment and Zero Net Carbon Emissions. The Academia Dialogue gathers scholars and youth from worldwide Yunus Social Business Centres, serving as a forum to build institutional conviction and advance research for a “3ZERO” world. The delegation was later invited to the North South University in Dhaka for the Social Business Innovation Summit, which brought forth 1000+ participating students to design transformative projects. The students in the Pakistani delegation got the opportunity to interact with a global network of students and professors, allowing them to share ideas and explore potential ways to collaborate. A special visit was arranged to Grameen Bank, where the delegation observed firsthand the operational models of sustainable social businesses putting the social business theory into practice.

The highlight from the visit remained the one-on-one meeting between the Pakistani delegation and Dr. Yunus himself, where the members discussed the advances that have been made in Pakistan thus far, along with the opportunity of expanding the 3-zero movement and national social business day in Pakistan. Other programs like scholarship opportunities for Bangladeshi students in Pakistan were also announced during the meeting. The trip came to an end with a dinner at Pakistan’s Embassy in Dhaka and a meeting with the High Commissioner, Mr. Imran Haider.

What made this delegation unique was that it brought together young minds and seasoned professionals, presenting a holistic representation of the potential Pakistan has, and to channelise it into action and impact. Rizq’s initiative to lead the delegation reflects its long-standing commitment to transforming food systems by developing innovative, sustainable, market-driven social businesses. This delegation will help enhance the social business and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Pakistan while exploring regional collaboration in agriculture, entrepreneurship, and impact investment. Global events like the Social Business Day are a great way to not only showcase Pakistan in a positive light, but also channelise the youth potential into action through a host of opportunities.

“It is a matter of great pride for Rizq to lead the Pakistani delegation for the second consecutive year, that too with some of Pakistan’s most brilliant minds. We believe this will help open up a lot of new doors for the country, and especially our youth!” Qasim Javaid, CEO of Rizq, said regarding the delegation.