Microfinance sector committed to foster sustainable development in the country
Islamabad: Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) and the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) hosted a two-day microfinance conference on accelerating financial inclusion through microfinance in Islamabad on Thursday. Representatives from PMIC, PMN, DFID, SECP
and the SBP addressed the inaugural ceremony of the conference.
Chairman PMIC, Mr. Naved A. Khan, highlighted the need for deepening customer engagement and digitizing the whole range of financial services. He also shared his views on enhancing bank ability through creation of economic sectors/clusters and aggregation of micro and small businesses in each cluster where after linkages need to be created through digital market places. He also emphasized PMIC’s role as the apex institution and sector developer
and partner in government’s agenda of financial inclusion and poverty alleviation with the aim to accelerate Pakistan’s progress towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.
He reiterated PMIC’s focus on recapacitating the institutions in the sector and working in a collaborative approach towards development of new instruments and
focus on implementation of need based microfinance plus initiatives that benefit women and rural communities in the country.
Chairman PMN Syed Nadeem Hussain emphasized on the need for concessionary loan schemes for beneficiaries of the social safety net programs, establishment of government led digital infrastructure for provision of financial services, microfinance sector’s support for the
government’s ‘Sehat Insaf’ initiative and creation of a Disaster Risk Fund with the aim to promote agriculture finance.
The conference was attended by key stakeholders of the sector- the regulators, microfinance providers, commercial banks, Digital Financial Service providers, FinTechs, insurance companies, corporate entities, donor agencies, policy makers, regulators, development agencies, Government representatives and microfinance beneficiaries.
An interesting feature of the conference was the participation of microfinance beneficiaries from as far as Tharparkar in Sindh and Khushab and Sheikhupura in Punjab. The beneficiaries shared their journey of rising up the ranks from poverty to prosperity through
microfinance, the stories instilled a renewed sense of courage and motivation for the audience.
Discussions during the day centered around the need for international investments in the sector to make meaningful progress towards meeting the targets set out under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) of the government.
The conference participants committed to identifying areas of collaboration and to build synergies to enhance financial inclusion in the country by undertaking a systematic analysis of the growth drivers that may have direct or indirect influence on the microfinance industry.
Boilerplates – PMIC and PMN Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company Limited (PMIC) is registered as an Investment Finance Company under NBFCs regulations with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
It is setup jointly by, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Department for International Development (DFID) through Karandaaz Pakistan and the German Development Bank (KFW) to catalyse and lead the next phase of growth in the microfinance sector of Pakistan. The purpose of the Organization is to improve financial inclusion, employment and well being of the poor by providing wholesale financing to the microfinance service providers in the country.
The Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) is a national association for retail microfinance providers in the country. PMN is a member driven network with the vision to expand access to formal financial services for all in Pakistan.
