Kashf Foundation, a provider of microloans and microinsurance to women in Pakistan, recently secured a local-currency loan of undisclosed size from SEB Microfinance Funds, an offering of Sweden-based Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) Group. The arranger of the transaction, Switzerland-based Symbiotics Investments, describes the transaction as the “first ever local-currency loan by any international institution in the microfinance sector of Pakistan.”
Kashf was founded in 1996 and seeks to provide microfinance in a way that will “enhance financial capabilities, alleviate household poverty and enable all, especially women, to become active agents of social and economic change.” The organization offers digital financial services as well as operating 382 branches. In addition to financial services, Kashf provides business development services, financial education, health training and “social theater” productions. As of June 2022, the NGO had 592,000 clients and total assets of PKR 32 billion (USD 112 million), having disbursed 692,000 loans during the previous 12 months, generating adjusted return on assets of 6.8 percent and adjusted return on equity of 31 percent.
The SEB Group reports that its microfinance funds have supported 3 million jobs in Africa, the Americas and Asia since their launch in 2013. The group is based in Sweden and has offices across the Americas and Eurasia, serving 4 million individuals and 400,000 companies of all sizes.
Symbiotics seeks “to foster sustainable development in emerging and frontier economies.” During 2022, the firm disbursed 47 new investments, ending the year with USD 2.6 billion in assets under management and investees that support 2 million end-borrowers in 76 countries.
By Elva Montelongo, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Symbiotics press release
https://symbioticsgroup.com/symbiotics-investments-closed-the-first-local-currency-transaction-in-pakistan-with-kashf-foundation/
Kashf Foundation homepage
https://kashf.org/
Kashf Foundation financials
https://kashf.org/financials/
SEB Microfinance Funds description
https://sebgroup.com/sustainability/our-impact/sustainable-stories/the-microfinance-funds
Symbiotics homepage
https://symbioticsgroup.com/
Symbiotics 2022 annual report
https://symbioticsgroup.com/publications/annual-report-2022/
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