Economy is poised to take off.

Byline: Khalil Ahmed

Tara Uzra Dawood: I am CEO of 786 Investments, a Shariah-compliant asset management company, as well as President of Dawood Global Foundation, which holds the National Awards for Pakistan under its LADIESFUND platform and is educating one million girls globally under its Educate a Girl platform in partnership with Facebook's internet.org foundation in several languages. I also serve on the board of Pakistan State Oil.

PAGE: How would you describe 2019 and what are your plans from 2020 as an entrepreneur?

Tara Uzra Dawood: 2019 was a wonderful year for expansion and growth. Our foundation Dawood Global Foundation is collaborating with the German Consulate to create a Women's Center in Karachi. We are looking at more tech based solutions to enhance customer service.

PAGE: Do you deem Pakistan a success story in 2019 relatively?

Tara Uzra Dawood: Last year was a turnaround where Pakistan finally entered the IMF program and the economy had to be slowed down by increasing interest rates to reduce imports and slow down the economy to get the current account in balance. When the October current accounts surplus news came out after 4 years, the economy started to improve dramatically. The rupee has strengthened from 162 to 155 against the US dollar and the stock market has gone up 30% and...