EDAS is a registered company established in 1988 to facilitate the entrepreneurial culture in Pakistan through customized trainings and advisory services. It has played an important role in the development of various government policies and institutions related to SMEs, skill and technology development. EDAS’s unconventional and experiential trainings provide skill sets that can turn big ideas into tangible outcomes. The core competency of EDAS is that most of its trainers are practicing business persons who have taken upon themselves to support the development of the private sector and to promote employment through helping new entrants in business. The founding CEO of EDAS was the President of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry. EDAS has close contacts with leading businessmen and contacts with all chambers of commerce and all women chambers in the country. Due to its effective alumni engagement EDAS understands the needs of entrepreneurs, particularly start-ups and the changing industry trends.

The College of Home Economics, Lahore was established in 1955, and became the University of Home Economics (UHE) in 2017. UHE has developed various centers like ORIC (Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization), RLT (Research, Learning and Training Center) and Women Development Center. The Department of Nutrition & Health Promotion has been imparting specialized knowledge and skills since 1955. It started the first-ever Food and Nutrition Program, Post Graduate Diploma in Dietetics in Pakistan. It has enabled students to aspire for advanced programs in Culinary and Nutritional Sciences and also to develop industry-favored skills in culinary artistry, which prepares them for a successful career in the hospitality industry. Alumni from the Department of Nutrition & Health Promotion are employed as dietitians, nutritionists, public health nutritionists, educationists, food entrepreneurs and researchers.

The Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement supports national leadership and collective action to scale up nutrition. The SUN Business Network (SBN) is convened by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and the UN World Food Programme to support SUN countries. SBN Pakistan seeks to increase the availability and affordability of safe and nutritious foods for low-income consumers through capacitating businesses and other relevant stakeholders and incentivizing positive business actions. SBN Pakistan focuses on creating an enabling environment for businesses to act on nutrition, accelerating nutrition-sensitive innovations and promoting cutting-edge and inclusive business models across the food system that address the constraints of different sectors that are important for food diversity and improved nutrition

EDAS signed a contract with GAIN to map, connect and strengthen SMEs working in the food and nutrition sector in Pakistan and SME service providers. The assignment involved assessing the technical and financial needs of the SMEs and SME Service Providers, providing training to clusters of SMEs and SME Service providers, and developing a liaison of the SMEs with the relevant service providers/partners to meet their technical and financial needs. EDAS signed an MOU with the University of Home Economics (UHE), Lahore for providing technical support for the nutrition-related aspects of the project. EDAS and UHE conducted a survey to identify the technical and financial needs of SMEs working in nutrition-related sectors in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Peshawar. This e-directory consists of a database of organisations which provide technical and/or financial services to SMEs in Pakistan.