The COVID-19 pandemic has not only created significant havoc in the world but has also opened doors to new opportunities for women entrepreneurs. The objective of this study is to examine case studies of women entrepreneurs to determine how they have taken advantage of the circumstances offered by COVID-19 to expand their businesses. To gain deeper insights about lived experiences of women entrepreneurs, the study uses semi-structured interviews to identify the strategies women entrepreneurs have adopted during times of social and economic upheaval. The findings indicate that women entrepreneurs responded to this crisis by accessing finance and using their innovative and creative skills to leverage e-commerce, often in the face of economic hardship. This study aims to contribute to policymakers’ and practitioners’ development of appropriate response strategies that focus on strengthening women entrepreneurs in Pakistan.

Alam, M.Q. and Alam, M.S. (2021) ‘Financial development, economic growth, and poverty reduction in India’, Etikonomi: Jurnal Ekonomi 20(1): 13–22 <https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v20i1.18417>.

Beriso, B.S. (2021) ‘Determinants of economic achievement for women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia’ Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 10(1): 1–14 <https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-020-00141-5>.

Galasso, V. and Foucault, M. (2020) Working during COVID-19: Cross-country Evidence from Real-time Survey Data [online], OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 246, OECD Publishing, Paris <https://doi.org/10.1787/34a2c306-en>.

Harahap, D.A., Ferine, K.F. and Irawati, N. (2021) ‘Emerging advances in e-commerce: panic and impulse buying during the Covid-19 pandemic’ Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy 12(3): 224–30 <https://doi.org/10.31838/srp.2021.3.37>.

Hussain, J., Mahmood, S. and Scott, J. (2019) ‘Gender, microcredit and poverty alleviation in a developing country: the case of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan’ Journal of International Development 31(3): 247–70 <https://doi.org/10.1002/jid.3403>.

Khan, T.A., Khan, F.A., Violinda, Q., Aasir, I. and Jian, S. (2020) ‘Microfinance facility for rural women entrepreneurs in Pakistan: an empirical analysis’, Agriculture 10(3): 1–17 <https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture10030054>.

Khursheed, A., Mustafa, F., Fatima, M. and Siddique, F. (2018a) ‘Entrepreneurial intentions: GEM based empirical analysis on the northern Europe and Asian countries’, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Knowledge 6(2): 59–70 <https://doi.org/10.2478/IJEK-2018-0014>.

Khursheed, A., Siddique, F. and Iqbal, K. (2018b) ‘Exploring role of microcredit in enhancing women empowerment: a qualitative study’, Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review 7(3): 42–8 <https://www.arabianjbmr.com/pdfs/Arabian%20Journal%20of%20Business%20and%20Management%20Review%20(Oman%20Chapter)_OM_VOL_7_3/5.pdf> [accessed 31 May 2021].

Khursheed, A., Fatima, M., Mustafa, F. and Khalid, F. (2019a) ‘Antecedents of entrepreneurial intentions: a cross-country study of northern Europe and the Danube region’, Iranian Journal of Management Studies 12(4): 593–627 <https://dx.doi.org/10.22059/ijms.2019.265108.673301>.

Khursheed, A., Mustafa, F., Arshad, I. and Gill, S. (2019b) ‘Work-family conflict among married female professionals in Pakistan’, Management Studies and Economic Systems 4(2): 123–30 <http://www.msaes.org/article_85823_7200.html> [accessed 16 May 2021].

Khursheed, A., Fatima, M., Mustafa, F., Nawaz, L. and Akhtar, A. (2021) ‘An empirical analysis of the factors influencing social entrepreneurship: a gendered approach’, Management Letters/Cuadernos De Gestión 21(2): 1–14 <http://doi.org/10.5295/cdg.201320ak>.

Malik, K., Meki, M., Morduch, J., Ogden, T., Quinn, S. and Said, F. (2020) ‘COVID-19 and the future of microfinance: evidence and insights from Pakistan’, Oxford Review of Economic Policy 36(Supplement 1): S138–68 <https://doi.org/10.1093/oxrep/graa014>.

Meyer, J. (2019) ‘Outreach and performance of microfinance institutions: the importance of portfolio yield’, Applied Economics 51(27): 2945–62 <https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2018.1564016>.

Mustafa, F., Khursheed, A. and Fatima, M. (2018) ‘Impact of global financial crisis on financially innovative microfinance institutions in South Asia’, Financial Innovation 4(1): 1–11 <https://doi.org/10.1186/s40854-018-0099-8>.

Mustafa, F., Khursheed, A., Rizvi, S.M.U., Zahid, A. and Akhtar, A. (2021) ‘Factors influencing online learning of university students under the Covid-19 pandemic’, IJERI: International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation 15: 342–59 <https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.5432>.

Noor, S., Isa, F.M. and Nor, L.M. (2021) ‘Women empowerment through women entrepreneurship: a comparison between women entrepreneurs and fulltime housewife in Pakistan’, Iranian Journal of Management Studies 14(2): 347–63 <https://doi.org/10.22059/IJMS.2020.302633.674074>.

Priambodo, I.T., Sasmoko, S., Abdinagoro, S.B. and Bandur, A. (2021) ‘E-Commerce readiness of creative industry during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia’, The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business 8(3): 865–73 <https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2021.vol8.no3.0865>.

Salahuddin, A., Mahmood, Q.K. and Ahmad, A. (2021) ‘Breaking second glass ceiling: lived experiences of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan’, Quality and Quantity 55(1): 1–12 <https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-021-01119-5>.

Stubbs, T., Kring, W., Laskaridis, C., Kentikelenis, A. and Gallagher, K. (2021) ‘Whatever it takes? The global financial safety net, Covid-19, and developing countries’, World Development 137: 1–8 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105171>.