IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is helping improve access to finance and support the growth of small businesses in Pakistan through an agreement with Habib Bank to expand the bank's small business lending programmes. IFC and Habib Bank will initially target the Lahore region which is home to 45 percent of the country's small and medium businesses, where IFC will help Habib Bank design and roll out financial services and banking products aimed at small businesses.
These products and services will then be launched country-wide through Habib Bank's extensive branch network. "This mandate will not only help Habib Bank better serve the small and medium-sized business sector in Pakistan, but will also improve our procedures and develop the capacity of Habib Bank to support this market segment as it continues to grow," said Mubashar Maqbool, Head of Habib Bank's Commercial & Retail Lending Department.
Kaiser Nasseem, Head of IFC's Bank Advisory Services in the Middle East and North Africa region, said, "Through the project with Habib Bank, IFC is helping expand small businesses' access to finance and support sustainable economic growth in Pakistan. The small business sector is a driver of job creation and economic growth, and supporting it is an important part of IFC's work."
Many banks regard lending to small and medium businesses as risky and lack the tools and techniques to efficiently serve them. By helping improve Habib Bank's ability to offer financing to these businesses, IFC's participation will demonstrate the benefits of lending to this market segment to other banks in Pakistan.-PR
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