Daily Times

The Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) and the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Friday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for provision of a wide range of banking products including digital banking solutions for the financing needs of the LCCI member companies, particularly those related to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The MoU was signed here by Ghazanfar Azzam, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MMBL, and LCCI President Mian Tariq Misbah. LCCI Senior Vice President Nasir Hameed Khan, the business community members and representatives of commerce and trade bodies attended the event. It is LCCI’s first-of-its-kind arrangement with any microfinance bank in the country to facilitate the LCCI members, especially those belonging to the SMEs sector, through provision of innovative banking solutions on a priority handling basis.

Ghazanfar Azzam said, “We are excited to work with the premier trade body in Pakistan, LCCI, for achieving the shared goal of stimulating growth and development of the SME sector.” Tariq Misbah said that the Lahore Chamber is aware of the fact that inadequate access to finance was the biggest obstacle in the success of SMEs. According to estimates, there were more than 5.2 million SMEs in Pakistan which contributed around 40 per cent to our GDP. The SMEs get only seven per cent of private sector credit in Pakistan while the number of SME borrowers was just around 180,000.