Incofin Microfinance Fund helps women entrepreneurs affected by extreme floods

This summer Pakistan was severely hit by a catastrophic flooding, which was described as the worst the country has ever experienced. More than 1,200 people died and more than 33 million people have been affected. The worst hit provinces are Sindh and Southern Punjab, the two provinces where microfinance institution Kashf Foundation operates. Kashf, a partner organisation Incofin has been working with since 2016, is unique in that it focuses almost exclusively on women entrepreneurs (99% of its client portfolio) in a country where women’s mobility is a major issue given existing social norms.

Incofin Microfinance Fund commits USD 30,000 of its technical assistance budget for Kashf’s Flood Relief Fund, the pool of funds from various donors through which Kashf comes to the aid of its clients. The grant from the Fund will go towards relief packages: dry food, hygiene and sanitation products, bedding, clothes and basic medicines. About 25,000 women micro-entrepreneurs from Sindh and Punjab provinces will benefit from this support. Together with their family members, this number even grows to 125,000. To help its clients in the longer term, Kashf will roll out loan repayment scheduling and enable recapitalisation so that its women entrepreneurs can restore their businesses.