On the occasion, Ms. Romina Khurshid Alam, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister praised the collective efforts of both CARE International and MMBL towards fostering a synergistic approach to enhance the financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. Moreover, she indicated that women’s economic empowerment is a key priority area for the government and encouraged the promotion of similar initiatives to reach the underbanked segments of the population, especially women. She added that such projects continue to lend unwavering support for women’s long-term financial development and the nation’s economic growth. Through this strategic partnership, MMBL and CARE aim to accelerate the financial inclusion of more than 12,000 entrepreneurs, especially females who have been running their businesses for at least two years and have employed a minimum of 2-10 staff members. Enhancing access to credit and subsidized loan products helps scale their operations considerably. In addition, the collaboration will also support the capacity building and mentoring of these budding entrepreneurs with a focus on the use of digital technologies. With the power of technology and telecommunication connectivity, female entrepreneurs attending the event were given mobile phones, to facilitate convenient and secure access to premium digital financial services and hybrid lending solutions to help scale their businesses. Addressing the audience at the event, Ghazanfar Azzam, President & CEO of MMBL said, “There are about 100 million unbanked people in Pakistan, and at least 82% of them are women. Women, in particular, lack access to formal digital financial services, making it difficult for them to participate in economic activity. MMBL, through this strategic partnership with CARE, is focused on training female entrepreneurs across the country to upskill their technical and professional skillsets, thereby reducing poverty and boosting prosperity by financially empowering them. This strategic partnership will play a critical role in promoting financial inclusion across the country and further the common goal of closing the gender gap in the financial sphere.” Speaking at the launch, the Country Director of CARE International in Pakistan, Adil Sheraz said: Lisa Richman, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Director for the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, said: “At Mastercard, we believe that financial inclusion is the path to a prosperous future for all. We are committed to supporting entrepreneurs in their digital transformation journey and through the Center for Inclusive Growth, we will continue to provide entrepreneurs, especially women, with the financial tools, training, know-how, resources, and technologies they need to connect with the digital economy to drive further growth and become more resilient. We are proud to build on our longstanding global partnership with CARE as we mark the next chapter in our journey in Pakistan.” Check out? Mobilink Microfinance Bank launches Digital Application DOST- to facilitate banking on the Go
