Pakistan Microfinance Forum focuses on financial inclusion strategies

3rd Pakistan Microfinance Forum

Microfinance Focus, Nov. 26, 2009: Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Syed Salim Raza said the dynamic microfinance sector is emerging to provide financial services to all and underscored the key role by technology and commercialization to drive it further.

He was speaking at the third Pakistan Microfinance Forum 2009 on “Mass Accessibility and User-friendly Resources” which was held in Islamabad on Wednesday. Many microfinance practitioners and institutions, international organizations, donor-agencies, academics and other financial experts, including member organizations of the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) were present at the Forum.

SBP Governor, in his keynote address, stressed that mobile technology is now fuelling banking worldwide and that he was clear technology and commercialization would take forward microfinance to give meaning to the slogan ‘financial services for all’. He added that the State Bank of Pakistan has formulated a comprehensive policy and strategic framework for microfinance, which strikes a balance between risk and growth.

The forum was the third in a series of microfinance conferences, being conducted annually in Pakistan by Shamrock Conferences International to share insights and experiences of institutions and practitioners in pursuit of developing an elaborate infrastructure for micro-credit.

The proceedings began with a welcome note from Menin Rodrigues, Chairman of the conference. He appreciated the professional commitment of all delegates and partner institutions in contributing towards the success of the moot.
Syed Mohsin Ahmed, CEO, PMN gave an “Overview of the Microfinance sector” indicating that there is direct relationship between financial access and poverty/income per capita. He said Pakistan has an excellent policy framework and is amongst four countries globally with a national strategy for microfinance.

The first session on ‘Policy & Regulatory’ was chaired by Ms. Kathleen Wu, Deputy Director, Office of Economic Growth, USAID, with the Joint Director, Microfinance SBP, Qazi Shoaib Ahmed presenting a review of the existing ‘Policy and Strategic Framework’ highlighting its capacity to expand and assist the sector. Ghalib Nishtar, President and CEO, Khushhali Bank stressed that policies and regulations are not cast in stone and need to evolve and respond to changes in environment and dynamics of the marketplace. It requires a focus on innovation and change that facilitates access to financial service across all irrespective of their economic thresholds.

The Regulatory deliberations concluded with a presentation by Yasir Ashfaq, General Manager, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, who elaborated on the impact of Regulation and Policy to the overall microfinance business in Pakistan.

Dr. Rashid Bajwa, CEO, National Rural Support Program (NRSP) was the chairman of the second session that covered “Performance Trends in Microfinance”. It began with a “Financial Review of the Microfinance Industry” by Ms. Mehr Shah, Financial Analyst, PMN which was followed by a presentation by Kamran Azim, the Chief of Operations at KASHF Foundation, who identified the “Current Challenges in Microfinance”. The third presentation was a synopsis of the “Effects of Micro-Insurance in Rural Areas” delivered by Capt. Mehmood Sultan, Senior General Manager, Adamjee Insurance Co. This session came to an end with detailed comments on “Islamic Microfinance (A Tool for Financial Inclusion)” presented by Prof. Mohammad Khaleequzzaman, Islamic Finance Advisor, FINCON-Canada, an advisory agency of the Asian Development Bank.

“Efficiency and Innovation in Microfinance” was the topic of the third session, where the Chairperson was Mr. Saquib Mohiuddin, Chairman, National Institute of Competitiveness. Shahid Mustafa, Group Executive Director, Tameer Microfinance bank, spoke about the benefits of “Branchless Banking as the way forward”. This was followed by a paper on “Innovative Approaches for Financial Inclusion” presented by Ms. Sadaffe Abid, CEO, BUKHSH Foundation, an innovative initiative for poverty alleviation.

The closing session featured Dr. Rashid Bajwa, CEO, NRSP, who proposed the strategic “Way forward” for the sector. He identified the key points brought out by the distinguished speakers during the day and concluded that the microfinance sector in Pakistan must recognize change in market dynamics, evolve an inclusive policy framework, strategize the need for reaching out to people for mass credit accessibility and work towards a balanced ‘financial services for all’ approach.

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