Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Globally recognized startup founder and activist Tanzila Khan shares her top tips for entrepreneurs

25/11/2022

5 minute read

Share

Last June, Pakistani entrepreneur and Telenor alumnus Tanzila Khan shared the stage with King Charles III and Amal Clooney, becoming the first ever recipient of the Amal Clooney Women's Empowerment Award. We spoke with her to get five tips on being a successful entrepreneur and maintaining unwavering optimism in the face of adversity.

As part of Telenor Asia's 25th Anniversary, our Game Changer interviews celebrate women and men in Asia that Telenor has supported in their quests to harness the power of connectivity for the benefit of their communities.

Tanzila Khan is recognized for her activism for women and disabled persons' rights-but also for founding a game-changing startup in Pakistan, GirlyThings.pk. The platform gives access to women's health products and information in a country where these are hard to come by. It allows fast, anonymous delivery of authentic products while also educating communities to reduce stigma. And thanks to Tanzila's global profile, GirlyThings.pk is now looking to spread beyond Pakistan.

In addition to Girlythings.pk, Tanzila is a popular content creator. Through short films and social posts, she sheds light on the joys and tribulations of being a woman with a disability both in Pakistan and during her travels abroad. Moreover, she is an alumnus of Telenor Pakistan's Open Mind program, an initiative to improve access to employment for persons with disabilities.

Here are her five tips for aspiring entrepreneurs:

Let Pain Inspire You

I only look at pain as an experience. Sometimes, I'm traveling and there are no facilities for disabled persons-even in Europe! But I don't want to be a loser. I want to be a winner. So I take painful situations and ask myself, What could we do differently? How can we learn from this?' That's how we grow as individuals and as a society. And that's how I got the idea for GirlyThings.pk.

Everyone Can Be Your Ally

I advocate for difficult topics, and I often encounter strong bias on both sides of every argument. In fact, when I say that I find great support from men, that can be a very controversial statement for some of my stakeholders. But I don't want to shut the door on any opportunities. You never know who might become your next investor.

Get Value, Add Value

My time is precious, and I want to make an impact in my lifetime. So now I'm much more careful to calculate the impact of what I commit to. But this goes both ways. I also make sure I'm always adding value to the people I meet and work with. Sob stories might get people's attention. But it's the promise of value that will get you their energy.

Believe in Your Ideas

I know most people say your hard work matters more than your ideas. But don't underestimate the power of ideas. You need lots of ideas. You need to believe in your ideas. And then the work will follow. Work is just the methodology to get your ideas realized.

Businesses Can Do Good

I first worked with Telenor Pakistan as part of their Open Mind program. It taught me that brands aren't always just about making a profit. They are also open to doing good things. Even in a large organization, if the right person hears your story, you can change the world.

You can follow Tanzila Khan on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
LINK: https://www.telenor.com/stories/include/globally-recognized-startup-fo...
See more stories from telenor

More from Telenor Digital Services and Broadcast

22/03/2024

Telenor releases its Annual report for 2023

1 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10> Our digital lives are becomi...

19/03/2024

Telenor, Hafslund and HitecVision announces 2.4 billion NOK investment in Oslo data center

5 minute read Share alt=Telenor, Hafslund and HitecVision announces 2.4 b...

14/03/2024

Breaking Boundaries: Cisco and Telenor Elevate Collaboration to Champion Inclusivity and Sustainability

8 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main ...

26/02/2024

Telenor Group Announces Collaboration with NVIDIA to Support its AI-First Ambition

6 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main ...

26/02/2024

Telenor R&I successfully conducts its first multi-vendor 5G SA deployment in a hybrid cloud environment

4 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main ...

07/02/2024

Solid year and fourth quarter for Telenor

8 minute read Share Presentation & report Webcast alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb...

06/02/2024

Telenor Breaks New Ground: Worlds Southernmost Base Station Established in Antarctica

5 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main ...

06/02/2024

Telenor bygger mobildekning i Antarktis

5 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10> (Antarktis, 6. februar 2024)...

14/12/2023

Telenor concludes strategic review in Pakistan with sale of Telenor Pakistan to PTCL

3 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main ...

11/12/2023

Green digital transformation: Four takeaways for success

7 minute read Share Safeguard Safeguard Safeguarding planet, people and data in the digital world and beyond Safeguard means that Telenor constantly ...

30/11/2023

Telenor and Ericsson join forces to pioneer the usage of AI and Machine Learning Research for a Sustainable and Smarter Future

7 minute read Share In a step towards advancing the realm of artificial in...

20/11/2023

Telenor establishes new IoT company

5 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10> In 2020, Telenor launched Mi...

16/11/2023

Telenor Group sells Telenor Satellite to Space Norway

4 minute read Share alt=Dag St lan (CEO Space Norway), Jan Christian Vestre (Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry) and Dan Ouchterlony (EVP and Head ...

25/10/2023

Strong third quarter for Telenor

4 minute read Share Presentation & report Webcast alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb...

22/09/2023

Elle Sofe Sara awarded the Telenor Culture Prize 2023

7 minute read Share alt=Foto: TSFotoDesign/Tanja Skoglund class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10> Foto: TSFotoDesign/Tanj...

22/08/2023

Changes in Telenor Groups Leadership Team

6 minute read Share Telenor is implementing changes to the Group Leadership Team, as the company continues to execute on the strategic ambitions towards 2...

10/08/2023

Working Group Two to be acquired by Cisco

2 minute read Share -- Fornebu, 10 August 2023 - Telenor announces that all shares in software company Working Group Two will be acquired by the global...

20/07/2023

Operational execution in line with plan

3 minute read Share Presentation & report Webcast In the second quarter we continue to execute on the strategy we laid out last year, seeing firm ope...

10/07/2023

Telenor Amp Partners with Shapemaker to Enhance Industry Innovation, Efficiency, and Sustainability

5 minute read Share alt=Photo people class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded ...

03/07/2023

Telenor and Statkraft sign agreement for the supply of renewable energy for Telenor's Finnish subsidiary DNA

4 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main ...

26/06/2023

Cutting emissions - and inviting our suppliers to join us

15 minute read Share As part of our commitment to reduce our carbon emissions, we have a responsibility to also examine our value chains. At Telenor, we a...

19/06/2023

Telenor and Hafslund are building Norways most secure and energy-efficient commercial centres for national data storage

6 minute read Share (Oslo, 19 June 2023) The criteria for security and sus...

05/06/2023

Thomas Midteide is appointed SVP Group Communications in Telenor.

3 minute read Share alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10> Thomas Midteide is appointed...

31/05/2023

Telenor purchases green energy from a brand-new solar park in Denmark

7 minute read Share In Kolding and Vejle Municipality, near the villages of Viuf and H strup, Better Energys brand-new solar park is on the way as the two...

23/05/2023

Telenor publishes learning outcomes from Myanmar engagement

3 minute read Share Telenor has completed its internal learning process after the exit from Myanmar, yielding valuable lessons on responsible disengagemen...

10/05/2023

Election of members to the Board of Directors of Telenor ASA

5 minute read Share The Corporate Assembly for Telenor ASA has in its meeting on 10 May 2023 elected Jens Petter Olsen as Chair of the Board of Directors,...

04/05/2023

Telenor's Q1 results: Solid strategy execution

5 minute read Share Presentation & report Webcast Today, Telenor reports its results for the first quarter of 2023. I'm pleased to see that we ...

28/04/2023

Telenor Asia in action: Aiming for Zero

5 minute read Share Everyone should be able to perform their jobs safely. Telenor Asia's Head of Health, Safety and People Security shares how he tack...

11/04/2023

Frank Maa appointed new Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations at Telenor Group

1 minute read Share Frank Maa has been appointed Senior Vice President Ca...

28/03/2023

Annual Report 2022

2 minute read Share Annual Report 2022 Telenor's Annual Report for 2022 covers financial statements, sustainability reporting, an overview of 20...

08/03/2023

Telenor Asia in action: Three strong women leaders paving the path in Asia

7 minute read Share Three women who are working on some of the most important priorities for Telenor Asia tell us how they have stepped into leadership ro...

08/03/2023

Three strong women leaders paving the path in Asia

7 minute read Share Three women who are working on some of the most important priorities for Telenor Asia tell us how they have stepped into leadership ro...

08/03/2023

Joining hands to create safe digital spaces for girls and young people

7 minute read Share Empowering Societies Digital skills Include Inclusion Grameenphone Grameenphone and Plan International Bangladesh join hands...

07/03/2023

Telenor Asia seeks to strengthen market position after completing two mega telco mergers (The Business Times)

9 minute read Share Writer: Mindy Tan View original article on The Busine...

01/03/2023

Unveiling Thailand's new telecom-tech champion

11 minute read Share dtac Telenor Asia When Telenor made its foray into Thailand in 2003 through its investment in dtac, the company's vision was ...

01/03/2023

Telenor completes the amalgamation of dtac and True in Thailand

5 minute read Share Today, Telenor Asia announces the completion of the amalgamation of the telco operations of True and dtac in Thailand. The transaction...

14/02/2023

Telenor Asia: Our Year in Review - 2022

7 minute read Share Download the full Year in Review - 2022 Message from Head of Telenor Asia, J rgen C. Arentz Rostrup: 2022 marked a significant turn...

02/02/2023

Executing on the strategy

7 minute read Share The quarter represents significant progress on our new strategic roadmap towards 2025. Mobile service revenues in Telenor Nordics inc...

01/02/2023

Sale of 30% of the Norwegian Fibre business completed

2 minute read Share (Fornebu, 1 February 2023) Telenor today closes the transaction to divest 30 percent of newly established Telenor Fiber AS, in Norway ...

30/01/2023

Telenor Asia Digital Lives Decoded (Play)

9 minute read Share Download full report PDF Survey Findings (Infographics) PDF Read the press release From virtual worlds to real-life communitie...

12/01/2023

Dtac and True are moving into the final phase of the merger

3 minute read Share Dtac and True have today held separate board meetings regarding the ongoing merger process between the companies. The boards of direct...

23/12/2022

Arus Academy co-founder Alina Amir shares her top tips on growing fast and well

5 minute read Share What can time spent with schoolchildren teach entrepreneurs? A lot, it turns out. Alina Amir co-founded Malaysia's fast-rising Aru...

21/12/2022

Fear "Cyber Grinches" this Christmas? You are not alone, new security survey finds

8 minute read Share People feel less safe about online shopping, but lucki...

16/12/2022

Digital security is a significant concern in the Nordics

6 minute read Share A recent survey Telenor conducted in the Nordics has shown that digital security is a significant concern for individuals across the r...

30/11/2022

Axiata and Telenor Announce the Successful Completion of the Celcom and Digi Merger

9 minute read Share New Company Well-Placed to Serve the Nation and Consum...

30/11/2022

Historic merger marks new chapter in Malaysia's digitalisation journey: We are in pole position.

11 minute read Share Digi Telenor Asia For over 20 years, Digi has emp...

25/11/2022

5 underrated life skills from the co-founder of Safe Internet metaverse bootcamp

6 minute read Share What are some essential life skills for the digital age? We asked Kalaya Kovidvisith, a co-founder of Thailand's Safe Internet met...

25/11/2022

Startup founder Sayem Faruk is connecting tech talents globally

5 minute read Share Sayem Faruk is transforming how global companies can connect with tech talent in Bangladesh. He founded Airwrk, a game changer for his...