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Partner description:

Kashf Foundation is one of the leading microfinance providers in Pakistan, focused on expanding financial access to poor households, especially those headed by women. Active in the Punjab and Sindh provinces and planning to open 19 new branches to cover all four of Pakistan’s provinces, the organization pioneers and offers financial products and other services to fit its clients’ evolving needs. To date, Kashf has disbursed about US$270 million to an estimated 2 million female clients.

Products and services:

Kashf Karobaar Karza (general loan): This is a productive loan designed for new and existing businesses. Loans are disbursed to groups of 3 to 5 women and range from US$278 to US$556 per client with a 1 year repayment term. These loans include detailed business appraisals, enabling both clients and loan officers to strengthen their lending decisions and build clients’ capacity with business plans for greater revenue generation.

Kashf Madadgar Karza (emergency loan): Loans designed to support clients during financially volatile periods. Clients use these loans to pay children’s school fees, utility bills and other unplanned expenditures. They are quick and easy to access so that women can continue to meet their families’ needs without paying exorbitant interest rates.

Home improvement loan: Loans designed to increase the asset value of clients’ homes and improve their living conditions. Some clients use these loans to make their homes suitable for rental or to shelter cattle, generating additional income. Kashf has suspended these loans for the time being, but they may be available in the future.

Kashf Zindagi Bima (insurance): Affordable life insurance is available for all Kashf clients to mitigate the risk they face in the event of a death. Kashf acts as an agent of the insurance company to provide this product to clients. This insurance policy covers outstanding balances on Kashf loans at the time of death of the client and/or her spouse, plus US$55 in funeral expenses for the family.

Basic financial literacy training: This training is provided prior to loan disbursement to educate clients about the basics of borrowing, debt management, savings, client rights, and the details of the financial agreements they are undertaking with Kashf. Clients are provided with reference material to supplement in-person training. And clients who have graduated from the program report that training helped them improve their understanding of financial issues before they used their loans, the disadvantages of taking out more than one loan at a time, and how to use their credit more effectively

Systemized financial education training: This training is broken into module-based workshops offering certification in four areas: saving, budgeting, debt management and financial transactions. These classes are conducted within communities with groups of 10 to 15 clients. The clients who have attended these training sessions report an increase in business revenue, an increase in savings, and say their business and household decisions have become more efficient as a result.

Gender training: Classes are provided by specialized gender trainers with clients, their husbands and adolescent boys from local communities. This training aims to promote awareness about gender discrimination and change the mindsets of participants about gender norms related to women’s role in the economy and access to financial services. Training participants -- particularly husbands and boys -- report enhanced sensitivity to gender roles and a better understanding of discrimination issues. They also made agreements to change their behaviors to treat women more equitably.

Business Incubation Labs (BIL): This program aims to transform home-based working women into micro or small entrepreneurs who can potentially employ others in their communities. The BIL develops and strengthens women-led businesses through various business development services and networking support, including training in business management, marketing, networking and business innovation.

Kashf is a microfinance pioneer. Not only was it the first specialized microfinance institution in Pakistan, it was also the first one to target women from low-income communities, and to charge a sustainable price for its services.

Inspired by the success of Grameen Bank, Kashf launched in 1996 and spent its first three years gathering market research to understand demand for microfinance services among poor women. From the beginning, it focused on client satisfaction and protection principles. Today, it has 157 of branches, a portfolio exceeding $32 million, and more than 280,000 active clients.