Islamabad :Askari Bank Limited and Naymat Collateral Management Company Limited (NCMCL) signed an MoU to collaborate for developing Electronic Warehouse Receipt (EWR) echo-system in Pakistan.

Fahd Sardar, Country Head Agriculture & Rural Business, Askari Bank, said that EWR shall reduce post-harvest losses of agriculture commodities and enable growers to get better prices off their produce instead of existing conditions of distress sales immediately after harvesting. Financing shall be quick and hassle free with no more lengthy process compared to traditional lending based on Agriculture Pass Book System. 

 Atif Malik, Acting CEO, NCMCL, commented that EWR will be a digital instrument which will give financial institutions real-time information and access to farmers who have placed their agriculture produce in accredited warehouse. The stored produce can be used as collateral for availing financing from the Bank. In addition, due to integration of EWR with Pakistan Mercantile Exchange (PMEX) farmers shall also have access to a structured secondary market to sell their produce.  

Speaking on the occasion, Abid Sattar, President & CEO, Askari Bank, said that financial inclusion of agriculture and rural sector is imperative for economic growth of the country. A vibrant agriculture sector can alone increase GDP rate by 2 to 3 percent. Innovative digitized solutions like EWR were long awaited and Askari Bank shall play its due role in capitalizing on this initiative.