In Pakistan, where historical cultural practices and customs can result in systemic discrimination against women, there are exemplary microfinance institutions supporting women´s progress across social and economic lines. Since 1996, the Kashf Foundation (KF) has provided financial services to low-income families and microentrepreneurs, supporting their clients—especially women—to become active agents of social and economic change. In fact, 99% of KF’s clients are women.

Access to financial products and services empowers these individuals, and the foundation complements these offerings with research and awareness campaigns including financial education, training, mobility solutions (“Women on Wheels”), day-care facilities, parental leave policies, and interactive social theatre to raise awareness and media campaigns.

For example, “Not without my mother-in-law” is a unique program where the family of female staff members is provided orientation, invited to the workplace and introduced to their peer staff members to address potential reluctance and misunderstanding linked to active women in the workplace.

And, since Pakistan has been disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change, with 14% of the population internally displaced due to severe floods, Kashf Foundation has designed financial and non-financial products intended to facilitate climate adaptation and resilience.

In response to the severe flooding that affected Pakistan in 2022, Incofin provided Kashf Foundation with a grant to support their relief campaign, which funded the distribution of 1,260 relief packages supporting around 6,000 individuals including 1,000 women micro-entrepreneurs and their families in fulfilling their basic needs in dry food, sanitation, and hygiene.

Learn more about agRIF, and Incofin CVSO, our funds investing in Kashf Foundation.

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