Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) has signed MoUs to partner with 14 Karachi based Financial Institutions (FIs) to extend financial support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The financial support will be provided for developing Livestock and horticulture value chains in targeted districts of Sindh and Balochistan under the Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP), a project funded by European Union (EU).
The representatives of FIs who signed the MoUs on behalf of their organisations to provide subsidy on markup for MSMEs include Syed Sajid Ali Shah, Divisional Head – Agri CRBG-South, Allied Bank Limited; Ghulam Farid, Head Branch Banking, Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank Limited; Saeed Uddin Khan, Chief Executive Officer, ASA Pakistan Limited; Ms Mehreen Ahmed, Group Head, Retail Banking Group, Bank Alfalah Limited; Fahad Siddiqui, Head of Secured Lending, JS Bank Limited; Shaykh Zeeshan Rauf, Head Development Finance & SME Banking, Meezan Bank Limited; Rehmat Ali Hasnie, SEVP & Group Chief, Corporate & Investment Banking Group, National Bank of Pakistan; Farooq Rashid, Chief Executive Officer, Pak Oman Microfinance Bank Limited; Sajjad Ali Shah, Managing Director, SAFCO Support Foundation; Mehboob Ul Haq, Chief Executive Officer, Sindh Enterprise Development Fund; Shoaib Arif, Chief Executive Officer, Sindh Microfinance Bank Limited; Muhammad Umer, Chief Executive Officer, Shah Sachal Sami Foundation (SSSF); Sono Khangharani, Chief Executive Officer, Thardeep Microfinance Foundation; and Zia Ijaz, Group Executive – Branch Banking & International, United Bank Limited (UBL).
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Irshad Khan Abbasi, Group Head Institution Development, Innovation and Integration, PPAF appreciated financial institutions’ coming on board with GRASP for the commitment to increase access to finance (A2F) for rural MSMEs. He further added that PPAF is dedicated to expand financial inclusion and mainstreaming of MSMEs and this signing ceremony is another hallmark of PPAF’s commitment for channelising finance to targeted districts MSMEs of Sindh and Balochistan. He also appreciated the efforts of Ms Robila Agha, A2F Specialist; Mr Waseem Uddin Shaikh, A2F Manager; and GRASP Team on orchestrating these landmark partnerships.
Tariq Sardar, Chief Technical Advisor, International Trade Centre (ITC) appreciated the role of the government in supporting the GRASP Project in strengthening and supporting SMEs. He lauded the financial institutions’ support and pro-activeness through this MoU in complementing GRASP efforts for access to finance.
The operations lead Mr Sohail Khan Bangash term this as a historic occasion and reiterated that GRASP will continue supporting the SMEs in targeted districts of Sindh and Balochistan through matching grants coupled with financings from banks.