From Volunteer to Founder: How Youth Co:Lab Changed What I Thought Was Possible

By Engr. Maira Shaikh Qureshi, Founder of MJ EcoSpin Innovations (Pakistan)

Before I joined the Movers Programme, I had passion. I cared deeply about sustainability and youth development. But caring about something and having the confidence to act on it are two very different things. I was not comfortable speaking in public. Facilitation felt out of reach. I had ideas, but I did not yet have the voice to go with them.

A Movers workshop changed that. It was not just a training. It was the first time I felt that my ideas belonged in the room. I improved my communication and speaking skills in ways I had not expected. I learned to facilitate. And somewhere in the process of helping others find their voice, I found mine too.

Within six months, I became the first Fastest Movers Envoy under the programme, recognized for exceptional impact and leadership among peers. That milestone mattered to me, but what mattered more was what came with it. A network of changemakers, mentors, and young leaders from across Asia-Pacific who pushed me, encouraged me, and kept reminding me that what we were building together was worth it.

From there, one door opened another. The Green Jobs Fellowship deepened my understanding of green skills and what a sustainable economy could actually look like in practice. Springboard sharpened my entrepreneurial thinking and helped me move from ideas to action. YECAP pushed me further into solution-oriented work, connecting climate action to real social impact. Each programme added a layer. Each cohort gave me more to work with.

By the time I founded MJ EcoSpin Innovations, I was a different person from the one who had walked into that first workshop. My startup focuses on sustainable textile recycling and circular economy solutions, work that sits at the heart of everything I had been learning and building towards. The recognition followed. I won the UNOPS Pakistan Green Solutions Challenge. I received the MakeSense Asia #MoversAndMakers Fellowship. I was awarded a grant under YECAP Shakers for youth-led climate action and social innovation. Each of those moments felt like confirmation that the direction was right.

But I want to be honest about what actually made the difference. It was not any single programme or award. It was consistency. Five cohorts. Five chances to grow, to be challenged, to come back with more. Most support arrives once and moves on. Youth Co:Lab stayed. And because it stayed, I could keep building, not just the venture, but myself as a founder, a facilitator, and a leader.

I came into this journey as a youth volunteer with ideas. I am leaving this chapter as a confident social entrepreneur. That shift did not happen overnight, and it did not happen alone.

As Youth Co:Lab marks ten years, I think about all the young people who are sitting where I once sat, full of ideas they are not yet sure anyone wants to hear. I want them to know that the support can be real, that the network can hold you, and that the person you become through the work is worth every uncertain step that got you there.

About the Author

Engr. Maira Shaikh Qureshi is the Founder of MJ EcoSpin Innovations in Pakistan, a venture focused on sustainable textile recycling and circular economy solutions. A recipient of the UNOPS Pakistan Green Solutions Challenge Award, the MakeSense Asia #MoversAndMakers Fellowship, and a YECAP Shakers grant, she has engaged across five successive Youth Co:Lab programmes, growing from participant to social entrepreneur.