Ameera Khan Pathan talks “Perfectly Personalised”

Power of philanthropy and helping support with issues affecting the underprivileged members of our communities

24-YEAR-OLD PHILANTHROPIST AND OWNER OF PERFECTLY PERSONALISED AND BOBA BUBBLE BOTSWANA ENTERPRISES AMEERA KHAN PATHAN, IS A CHAMPION BEHIND WHAT IS ARGUABLY SOME OF THE OF THE BEST INITIATIVES DRIVEN BY A YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR WHO DERIVED HER PHILANTHROPIC PASSION FROM HER FAMILY. THE RESPONSIBLE CITIZEN MAGAZINE CONNECTS WITH AMEERA TO LEARN MORE ON HER SMALL BUSINESS’ REMARKABLE MILESTONES, ALSO SHEDDING LIGHT ON ITS FAST-GROWING ACTIVITIES THAT ARE ON THE UPWARD TRAJECTORY TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND IMPACTING BOTSWANA’S YOUNG WOMEN.

TRC: Ameera, do tell us a little about yourself, giving a brief summary of your business ventures. AKP: My name is Ameera K Pathan, I’m 24 years old and an individual who strives for better! “Perfectly Personalised” is a small business that I run, and carries out multiple forms of branding, from brand design on wood and metal to cloth as well glass and plastic.

We were established in 2018 where our focus at the time was on t-shirt designs but have since expanded into printing on other materials. We are renowned for being a small business that provides good service and supplies high quality products at affordable prices. Everything is made locally, and in this way, we have been able to create employment opportunities for a handful of people through reselling of our branded goods. TRC: Can you shed light on some of the socially responsible work that Perfectly Personalised has carried out for local communities thus far? AKP: Perfectly Personalised Botswana has rolled out campaigns in partnership with Walk of Hope to raise funds for numerous individuals throughout Botswana. We focus our community investments on projects tied to education, entrepreneurship, community wealth and wellness, ensuring that our projects are sustainable such that communities benefit from them for quite some time. TRC: How has some of your work been impacted by the global pandemic? AKP: COVID-19 has brought with it much devastation particularly in the business community, with industries such as tourism being quite hard hit. While we are a small business, we have been fortunate enough to not be as impacted as other businesses. However, the current environment has reduced the amount of donations we receive due to individuals having to prioritise savings in order to stay afloat. We did however witness support from bigger businesses who came to our aid by helping us with feeding the needy and underprivileged individuals and families during the lockdowns. TRC: What is your motivation behind giving back to the community? AKP: From when I was young, my grandparents and parents always taught us to give back to the communities as it was a great deed. It is also an amazing thing that our Muslim religion has taught us to do as it shows the piety and the generosity of oneself. TRC: How sustainable are the CSI projects you align yourselves with? Do the communities that you assist value and appreciate the benevolence? AKP: As far as we’ve seen, we have received letters of appreciation as well as calls to thank us for all we have done. We put smiles on children and adults’ faces whenever possible and that is enough for us to know that we are doing the right thing. TRC: The Government has been calling on the business community to create employment particularly aimed at reducing the youth unemployment and poverty as well. How is Perfectly Personalized contributing in this regard? AKP: To date, we have been assisting children in government schools with clothing, shoes and stationery where possible. We have also been helping teenage mothers during this pandemic as we have witnessed a rise in gender-based violence, an increase in rape cases and uneducated women who need assistance with a host of resources.

We also have a Teen Mothers Project that will be coming up soon that seeks to provide assistance to these young women in multiple ways across Botswana. Perfectly Personalised is still a small yet growing business with no employees, however we do have resellers throughout Botswana which makes it easier for them to earn their own income by receiving prices at wholesale level with targets to meet for their own advancement.

We have a long-standing commitment towards the bettering of the communities and environment in which it operates. We take pride in investing in communities. TRC: How have organizations or communities benefited from your companies Corporate Social Investment/ Responsibility initiatives? AKP: A lot of teen girls and ladies have benefitted with the sanitary wear project which we launched in 2018. We have also provided educational to places we have identified as having a need and continue to witness a positive change. We still however require more assistance from multiple companies to help us contribute towards the needed changes in this country through partnerships so that we change lives of young people locally.

We have touchpoints across various parts of Botswana as well as some parts of other countries bordering Botswana. As mentioned, before we target underprivileged individuals and families as well as the old-aged individuals, and believe that to give to one person is to give to all. We are all family in some way or another and we pride ourselves with the ability to give back more. TRC: What is the relationship between you and Molepolole based Walk of Hope Botswana? AKP: The relationship between us and Walk of Hope is all empowering less privileged families and individual members of the community. A great part of our efforts lies in being assertive on the issue of child abuse and giving needed emotional and psychological support of the abused and their families too. I’m humbled to have been named one of Walk of Hope’s Ambassadors as I am one of their youngest donors.