Press

An article was published in Rising Kashmir dated 25th April 2021, which showcased Graphicweave as the only woman owned software development company in Kashmir. Here is the article as in Rising Kashmir. https://www.risingkashmir.com/Valley-women-programme-their-way-into-IT-sector-76720 Valley women programme their way into IT sector Today’s women are at par with men and work with equal dedication, and passion. They are entering every sphere of entrepreneurship. While some are making strides in fabric business, others are creating new clothing lines in their boutiques. Posted on Apr 24, 2021 | Author LUBNA RESHI Srinagar, April 24: We are seeing so many women shunning their jobs and starting their own ventures in Kashmir. Though starting a business comes with a lot of risk, yet women in the Valley are willing to take a plunge only to nurture their dreams. Today\’s women are at par with men and work with equal dedication, and passion. They are entering every sphere of entrepreneurship. While some are making strides in fabric business, others are creating new clothing lines in their boutiques. Then there are some who have ventured into the food industry and started their restaurants and cafes. However, off late, there is one more phenomenal trend emerging in the Valley. Some women are further pushing the envelope by exploring the male dominated domains like information technology. Lubna Reshi talked to some of these women who are successfully leading in IT business here. Instead of waiting for a job offere, these women started their own ventures. Not only are they doing great for themselves, but are also providing employment to others. Asma Yasrib CEO of GraphicWeave, Asma Yasrib was more into writing, drawing, and poetry when she was young. But today she is a successful IT businesswoman of Kashmir. The missionary school pass-out, Asma is one amongst the first bloggers of Kashmir, who would write extensively about Kashmir and related things. Asma moved to Malaysia along with her family when she was in class 9th and did her Masters in Management Information and Systems from there only. She returned back to Kashmir when she felt she wanted to go back to her roots. “I felt Kashmir was calling me. So I returned back after spending a major part of my life in Malaysia. After my return I worked with an IT company BQE for five years. Though Asma was doing a reputable job, however, to do something of her own was always on the back of her mind. So in 2008, she made her first move. “I rented an office space and got it renovated. I was just about to start the business when Amarnath land row happened and all my hopes got dashed. For the next six months, the space was closed and she was paying the rent for nothing. When political instabilities hindered her way, she left for Mumbai and worked there for some time. No sooner did the things come back on track, she took a flight to Srinagar and began chasing her dream once again. Propelled by her passion to get her venture started, Asma in 2009 finally started GraphicWeave. “GraphicWeave was founded in 2009 as a small web design studio in Srinagar. The primary goal was to use best technological frameworks and stunning designs to deliver websites, corporate identity, and other creative solutions to people,”recalls Asma. Today, GraphicWeave creates and supports creative work across the globe and offers a wider range of services than what it initially started off with. “We have clients from Canada, US, Malaysia, Japan, Azerbaijan, Dubai, Australia and locally,”says Asma. Today this young IT professional is full-fledged into developing web and mobile apps. “I manage a full-stack design and Development Company with focus on building cloud based, high performance and scalable mobile (iOS and Android), web and desktop apps. We have over the years developed various apps for web and mobile. Our tech-stack comprises Golang, Node.js, AngularJS, React.js, React Native, Vue.js and more. Our clientele comprises startups and established businesses across the globe including those in the IT sector who like to hire remote managed developers.” Asma is preferred among her clients as she and her team always tries to be on the forefront by making use of the latest technology. “Sometimes our clients are surprised when they find us at par in technology with other parts of the world.” Though it is difficult to run an IT venture in Kashmir due to intermittent internet gags but never losing hope is the key, she says. “I suffered a great loss during the last lockdown in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. I wanted to move to Delhi but being a mother I couldn\’t do so. I think this is the limitation as a woman that you cannot take your whole family along and move about.” However, Asma coped up the loss with the projects she got afterwards. She believes in working to the best of her abilities and gives best to her clients. “I always believe that if you do mediocre work, you can never achieve your goals. You have to give your best, no matter what.  Tabish Khan and Benish Nayeem This young duo in their mid-twenties started their IT venture AdVorld in late 2019 when they were laid off from a US based IT company after the internet services were snapped off in the Valley immediately after the abrogation of Article 370. “Benish and I used to work together at two places – both IT companies. Within no time we became friends and shared a unique chemistry. When we both lost the jobs we planned to start something of our own,”Tabish maintains. The two, one day while discussing their future over the phone discussed about starting their IT venture. “We had the experience, we know what works and what not so we thought let\’s give it a try.” They started working on 2G speed and got in touch with the people through LinkedIn. After months of hard work they finally got a client from Dubai and since then they have been