Ms. Meyer informed that USAID Pakistan’s Economic Growth Program has provided, to date, financial services to over 100,000 families in 30 districts across Pakistan.
Divisional Head NBP SME Division Kamran Amin, Senior Executive Vice President NBP Amer Siddiqui, Senior Consultant Shore Bank International Kirsten Weiss and approximately 40 award-winners from 13 branches of NBP were also present on the occasion. Through USAID’s 4.9 dollars million WHAM project initiated in 2005 and implemented by Shore Bank International (SBI), NBP began lending to small enterprises. NBP’s small enterprise lending project has been so successful that the Bank plans to expand the program across six hundred branches throughout Pakistan.

Through the Financial Services component of its 72 million dollars Economic Growth program launched in 2003, USAID Pakistan has moved beyond conventional micro-credit to micro-entrepreneurship by creating loan products consistent with the needs of the borrowers, developing staff and systems to manage those loan products, and delivering them to the market. Support for WHAM is part of the 1.5 billion dollars in aid that the US is providing to Pakistan, through USAID, over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance, and for earthquake reconstruction.-SANA

At an April 17 event co-sponsored by Grameen Foundation, SAIS, the Microenterprise Coalition, and the Microcredit Summit Campaign, Pakistan State Bank Governor Dr. Shamshad Akhtar shared her vision and strategy to advance microfinance in Pakistan. Her plans include engaging the private sector, fostering competition, and creating frameworks for new technologies such as mobile banking. Dr. Akhtar hopes to help the Pakistan microfinance sector grow to reach 3 million clients by 2010. Groups like GF partners UPAP and Kashf Foundation will play a key role, expanding from a combined total of over 200,000 clients today to more than half a million by 2010.