ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Micro-finance Investment Company (PMIC) has signed off a financing facility of Rs1.5 billion for the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP). According to the NRSP, the facility will enable it to meet financing requirements of more than 100,000 households across Pakistan. Majority of these loans will be targeted towards women in rural areas for agriculture, livestock and enterprise deve. The agreement was signed by Dr. Rashid Bajwa, the chief executive officer of NRSP, and Yasir Ashfaq, the chief executive officer of PMIC. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Bajwa said, “We value our partnership with PMIC and believe this financing facility from PMIC will be important for NRSP to enhance access to finance for the underserved communities across Pakistan. Our aim is to further extend our partnership with PMIC to strengthen efforts to benefit the underserved communities and increase financial inclusion.” PMIC CEO Yasir Ashfaq said, “PMIC is keen to promote financial inclusion across Pakistan. PMIC and NRSP share a common objective to facilitate access to finance for women and the underserved communities in rural areas of the country. With this partnership, we aim to improve financial inclusion indicators and contribute towards the National Financial Inclusion Strategy. We envisage to extend our partnership with NRSP in the coming years to meet the demand for financial services in Pakistan.” PMIC is registered as an Investment Finance Company under NBFC’s regulations with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). It has been set up jointly by the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) and the Department for International Development (DFID) through Karandaaz Pakistan and the German Development Bank (KFW) to catalyse the next phase of growth in the microfinance sector of Pakistan. The purpose of the organisation is to improve financial inclusion, employment and wellbeing of the poor by providing wholesale financing to microfinance service providers. Established in 1991 under Section 42 of the Companies Ordinance 1984 as a not-for-profit organisation, NRSP is the largest Rural Support Programme in the country in terms of outreach and development activities. Published in Daily Times, May 23rd 2018.