Union Microfinance establishes branch in Karachi

KARACHI: Union Microfinance on Thursday launched its first branch in Karachi to reach out to the country’s marginalised segment with a special focus on women.

Inaugurating the branch, Yasir Ashfaq, chief executive officer of Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company, said that there was a need for microfinance institutions, which can provide the much-needed help to the people.

“Bangladesh’s population of around 172 million has more than 700 microfinance institutions with around 33 million clients, while Pakistan with a population of 220 million has around 33 institutions with only 8 million clients, of which 1.5 million availed nano-loans,” he added.

This is a great development, as the private sector has opened a microfinance institution, which is the need of the hour, Ashfaq said, expressing the hope that the institution will be a great success.

Union Microfinance Chief Executive Officer Mumtaz Hadi said that the country is heading towards digitalisation and a fast-paced loan disbursement is required.

The number of people using smartphones is rapidly increasing in Pakistan where more than 83 per cent of the population use cellular phones. This also demonstrates the dire need for robust digital services, he added.

The Union Microfinance will provide innovative digital lending solutions through real-time credit disbursements; from customers’ onboarding to disbursement and collection, Hadi said.

This way, the Union Microfinance aims at not only simplifying and eradicating the time-consuming hurdles in loan disbursements but also to effectively market their products to the target market.

Regarding the financial inclusion of women, Hadi said that the Union Microfinance will offer women-centric products because they lag far behind in the accessibility of financial services in Pakistan, adding that the Union Microfinance plans to expand its network in the next two years by opening more branches in other cities to facilitate and give access to the unbanked population in villages across the country.

Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan leader Farooq Sattar said that the best model to empower the common man is through microfinance banking system.

“The best model of empowering the common man in heavily populated countries is through microfinance banks. Bangladesh is the best example of the success of microfinance banks where a large portion of women are also getting benefits from such banks where they are contributing billions of dollars to the Bangladesh economy.”

“This is the future as far as the stability of a society and a nation is concerned. This initiative is also a courageous step to reach out to the people and to take this risk of advancing small loans to them,” he added.