LAHORE: Akhuwat Foundation Founder and Executive Director Dr Amjad Saqib has said that the Akhuwat Foundation has been running the most successful and largest Qarz-e-Hasna scheme with a 99.9 percent recovery rate of its interest-free Islamic microfinance programme.
Addressing at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), he said that Akhuwat – since its inception in 2001 – had disbursed a sum of Rs150 billion as interest-free loans to 4.4 million people of the deprived communities. He said that the interest-free loan programme had enabled hundreds of thousands of people to secure basic necessities of life enabling them to live with dignity and honour.
Dr Saqib Saqib informed the participants of the meeting that the philosophy of Akhuwat was based on the concept of Mawakhat in Islam. Besides the microfinance programme, he said that the Akhuwat has also became partner of the government in the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme. He said that the government has provided five billion rupees to Akhuwat and the foundation has issued loans for housing to 12 thousand people on four to five percent service charges.
He said that the foundation established Pakistan’s first fee-free university for students from all the provinces. He said that loan repayments to Akhuwat were again utilized to help out the needy people. On the occasion, LCCI Senior Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan said that role of the organizations like Akhuwat Foundation was of utmost importance in poverty eradication as the government cannot cope the challenge alone.
He said that this model of the Akhuwat Foundation needs to be supported by the private sector and it should follow the footsteps of Dr Amjad Saqib while carrying out their social responsibility. He said that foundation of the Akhuwat University was a big milestone as it would provide quality higher education to the deserving students without fees and they would be able to serve the country.
He said that LCCI was ready to play its part in apprising its member firms about the services of Akhuwat Foundation to support its various initiatives. He said that LCCI would coordinate and arrange awareness seminars in collaboration with the Akhuwat Foundation. Akhuwat Foundation CEO Dr Kamran Shams and LCCI Executive Committee member Shahid Nazir were also present.