SBP formulates strategic framework for microfinance

KARACHI - A dynamic financial sector is emerging to provide financial services to all. Mobile technology is now fuelling banking worldwide and technology and commercialization was the way forward for microfinance to give meaning to the slogan 'financial services for all.
This was stated by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Syed Salim Raza in his key note address during the third Pakistan Microfinance Forum 2009, held Saturday, with a special emphasis on 'Mass Accessibility and User Friendly Resources.
The Forum attracted healthy participation of microfinance practitioners and institutions, international organizations, donor-agencies, academia and other financial experts, including member organizations of the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN).
The well-attended forum was the third in a series of microfinance conferences, being conducted annually in Pakistan by Shamrock Conferences International with the purpose of sharing insights and experiences of institutions and practitioners in pursuit of developing an elaborate infrastructure for providing broad based micro-credit facilities.
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.
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 & 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.
The Regulatory deliberations concluded with a presentation by Yasir Ashfaq, General Manager, Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund who elaborated on the impact of Regulation & 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.