MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Afghani Microfinance Organizations, Pakistan’s Khushhali Bank Mull Collaboration

At a recent meeting, microfinance officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan opined that working together to develop and promote financial infrastructure that supports microfinance could benefit the two countries. Ghalib Nishtar, president of Pakistani microfinance institution Khushhali Bank, reportedly said that “[b]oth Afghanistan and Pakistan can learn a lot from each other, and the cooperation and collaboration among microfinance institutions could help overcome our deep-seated socioeconomic challenges by providing access to sustainable financial services” [1].

Bahram Barzin, technical support director for the government-backed Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA); Najibullah Samim, executive director of the Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA); and Patmana Rafiq Kunary, member services specialist for the US-sponsored Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) program, joined Mr Nishtar at the meeting in Pakistan. The four agreed that both countries could benefit from the broad and swift promotion of microfinance services in both rural and urban areas. Mr Barzin and Mr Samim specifically expressed interest in collaboration with the microfinance sector in Pakistan [1] [2].

By Courtney Snelling, Research Associate

About Khushhali Bank: Khushhali Bank is a Pakistani microfinance bank that was founded in 2000 as part of Pakistan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and its Microfinance Sector Development Program (MSDP). Initially operated by the State Bank of Pakistan, the country’s central banking authority, Khushhali Bank was converted into a public limited company on April 1, 2008. As of December 31, 2010, Khushhali Bank reported to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) total assets of USD 84.5 million, a gross loan portfolio of USD 43.4 million, return on assets (ROA) of 1.1 percent, return on equity (ROE) of 3.53 percent and 325,000 active borrowers.

About Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA): Microfinance Investment Support Facility For Afghanistan (MISFA) is a microfinance organization established in 2003 by the Afghan government to coordinate donor resources and provide technical assistance and funding to develop small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) lending. Financial information for MISFA is not available from the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), the US-based nonprofit data provider, or other standard sources.

About Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA): Registered in 2007, the Afghanistan Microfinance Association (AMA) is a microfinance network in Afghanistan. AMA engages in capacity building, advocacy, lobbying and awareness to support microfinance institutions in Afghanistan. AMA has 13 permanent members and 2 associate members as of 2012.

About Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA): Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA) aims to strengthen the Afghanistan financial sector by helping the Afghan government and the Afghan private sector generate jobs and stimulate economic growth. Started in 2011, the effort is funded by a five-year grant of USD 74 million provided by the US Agency for International Development.

Sources and Additional Resources:

[1] Tribune.com.pk, March 6, 2012, “Microfinance: Pakistani, Afghan Officials Stress Need for Cooperation”, http://tribune.com.pk/story/345900/microfinance-pakistani-afghan-officia… …

[2] Pakobserver.net, “Pakistan, Afghanistan Set to Strengthen Microfinance Sector”, http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=143673

MicroCapital.org Brief, February 28, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) Launch MicroEYE Information Mapping Tool”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-pakistan-poverty-alleviat

MicroCapital.org Brief, February 28, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: State Bank of Pakistan Aims to Disburse $134m via Microfinance Banks to Agricultural Sector in 2012”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-state-bank-of-pakistan-ai

MicroCapital.org Brief, May 10, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA) Announces Afghan Microfinance Sector Reaches $1b in Loan Disbursements”, https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-microfinance-investment-s

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Microfinance Investment Support Facility for Afghanistan (MISFA), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Microfinance+Support+Facility+for+Afghanistan+%28MISFA%29

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Afghanistan Microfinance Association, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Afg…

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Financial Access for Investing in the Development of Afghanistan (FAIDA), https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=FAI…

Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at: https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/

 

 

Similar Posts: