Sayed Zehra Jafri

Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme

Name: Sayed Zehra Jafri
Age: 32 (April 2006)
Born: Karachi, Pakistan
Lived in Scotland: Since September 2003

Syeda Zehra Jafri first came to Scotland in 2003 to take an MBA and went on to set up her own computer and stationery supply business in Glasgow, with a bit of help from the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland scheme.
 
As an executive director of two family businesses in Pakistan, the reputation of Strathclyde University for its technology and business courses had already reached Syeda in Karachi who is a graduate of the university there. 
 
"I applied and was accepted for an MBA course and came to Glasgow in September 2003," she said. 
 
"The course was very extensive and included background about trading with the US and Europe. 
 
"I completed my course the following November and returned to Pakistan for eight months. But I thought Glasgow was a wonderful city and the people so warm and friendly, I decided to come back here and set up my own business.

"I found the Fresh Talent scheme very helpful when I applied for a visa and work permit."
 
Syeda trades as Zehra Jafri Ltd which she incorporated in November 2005 from her premises in the Premier Forge Market in Parkhead in Glasgow, selling computer accessories and stationery.

The family companies of which she is an executive director, Jafri Brothers Ltd and the Jafri Corporation, have ensured Syeda has a great deal of experience in distribution. One of the companies holds the franchise for the distribution of car, truck and bus tyres to the wholesale trade throughout Pakistan on behalf of Toyo Tyres, Japan’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer. 
 
"I have done quite well in my first year's trading in Scotland, particularly during the trade peaks before Easter, Christmas and St Valentine's Day," she said. 
 
"Scotland is a beautiful country and it is technologically advanced.  The opportunities are excellent for people coming here from abroad, particularly if they are setting up in business. 
 
"Also, if you have studied here, it is a great start to setting up in business in Scotland because you will have already become familiar with the country and made many of your contacts."

Information correct at May 2007

Related links

• Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme