Suleman G. Abro is a senior rural development, agribusiness, entrepreneurship and microfinance professional with more than 35 years of experience of managing organizations and multiple tasks-oriented leader with extraordinary experience in social and economic development, especially rural development. Currently, Mr. Abro working as Chief Executive Officer and Director in SAFCO Microfinance Company (Private) Limited and having proven track record with leading organizations successfully leading the functions of microfinance operations and micro enterprises development.

Mr. Abro is Masters in Sociology, Economic, L.L.B from Pakistan’s reputable universities as well as he is diploma graduate from Harvard Business School on Strategic Leadership in Inclusive Finance, course on Gender Policy and Planning from University College of London.

He has been engaged in development sector as volunteer and reached at the position of CEO in different organizations and he has been the founder member of many other organizations like; Sindh Microfinance Network, Pakistan Microfinance Network, Sindh Graduates Association and many unions council-based community institutions. He has served as board of director on many reputed institutions such as PMN, SRSO, SMN, SAP PK, and Indus Craft Foundation (ICF).

Following are the edited excerpts of a recent conversation BR Research had with Mr. Suleman G. Abro:

BR Research: Walk us through your long journey as a social entrepreneur and microfinance professional.

Suleman G. Abro: We officially started in 1986 from Sanghar as Sindh Agricultural and Forestry Workers Coordinating Organization (SAFWCO) which is a non-government and not-for-profit organization with a focus on rural development. We used to make the people in rural areas watch art films on women’s issues, labor issues, farmer issues, patriarchy, etc. that resonated with the conditions and situation in their village. Our approach to communicating issues with arts became very popular and spread across various villages in the province. Similarly, in cities, we gathered all the literary people like teachers and poets theme way.

This exercise helped us understand the real issues of the areas that included lack of electricity, lack of drinking water, lack of schools and housing, lack of medical facilities etc. We realized that temporary medical camps were not a solution. People were poverty stricken and faced immense economic challenges. In 1992 we started with finance women and men for a very small-scale poultry and cattle farming. These projects were a great success. The same year, we experienced torrential rains that wreaked havoc on agriculture and poultry/cattle rearing in the region. The same year, we experienced torrential rains that wreaked havoc on agriculture and farming in the region. That’s when we introduced a housing program for the rain and flood affectees. I was determined to spread my message across for women empowerment and poverty reduction at the poorest levels. It wasn’t easy as we faced countless challenges, but we continued our journey to make a difference.

After 1996, I was invited to many international forums for my contribution to the field. We were in Washington for a summit in 1997 where we pledged to start an informal microfinance group back in Pakistan, which later came to be known as Pakistan Microfinance Network. At the time, the group was focused on coordinating dialogue and lateral learning opportunities between members.

We brought a change in the mindset, and the concept of microfinance took off for the first time at a scale. Over time, with the increase in the nature and level of activities, and membership, the setup was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in April 2001 under the Companies Act. It has since been known as the Pakistan Microfinance Network. I was among the founding board members.

In 2009 it was decided under the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan that separate MFIs will be formed and I took the initiative to be the first to form a separate, specialized MFI called the SAFCO Support Foundation. Currently, the network strength stands at 46 microfinance providers including microfinance banks regulated by SBP, and non-bank microfinance companies regulated by SECP. Today PMN is the best network in South Asia, South East Asia, and East Asia, and it is well known across the world. And I take a lot of pride in its success. PMN created many opportunities for us too including global exposure for SAFCO Support Foundation in terms of various microfinance programs in the underdeveloped and developing world. In 2016, SECP directed us to obtain non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

We aimed to target entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs with a focus on rural women for entrepreneurship skills, linking access to finance and creating platforms to empower communities for the socio-economic betterment. Today we are working as a leading institution at the grassroots level for the growth and stability of women entrepreneurs; we create linkages for women entrepreneurs for access to finance with our subsidiary company SAFCO Microfinance Company Limited (SMCL) and other financial institutions; we extend Services of skills training for scale up their businesses and execute grant projects focuses to benefit social weaker section. SMCL was formed in 2022, and it is a subsidiary for-profit private limited company incorporated and registered with SECP as a subsidiary company of SAFCO Support Foundation.

BRR: Could you name the organizations and institutions that you started and developed?

SA: My vision has been to empower the rural and marginalized communities by bringing them into mainstream of the society with economic growth and sustainable livelihood. I am proud to that I was able to establish institutions that are serving the communities and creating the impact in their lives. These include Sindh Agriculture and Forestry Workers Coordinating Organization - SAFWCO, SAFCO Support Foundation, SAFCO Microfinance Company (Pvt.) Ltd, Development of Human Action Research and Training Institute - DHARTI, Agri-Business Rural Finance ABRF and Human Institution Development - HID Center to serve the communities for their socio-economic development.

BRR: When did SMCL commence operations?

SA: SMCL commenced operations in August 2022 through the takeover of transformed assets and liabilities of its holding company’s (“SSF”) microfinance program. SSF was operating since 2009 having a footprint across the whole of Sindh Province with a network of 57 branches providing microfinance services to more than 700,000 unbanked and low-income entrepreneurs, out of them 59 percent are women entrepreneurs and 80 percent of them are rural smallholder farmers. The vision of SMCL is to be the leading financial institute that provides excellent microfinance services to unbanked entrepreneurs and productive poor families to create benefits for clients, shareholders, and society.

For that we have been very successful in reaching the unbanked and low-income communities; with financial and business solutions, in a socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable way, through the efficient use of capital, technology, and human resources.

BRR: What challenges have you been facing while serving the unbanked and low-income communities?

SA: I believe the lack of financial literacy is one of the biggest challenges for rural areas and low-income areas. At the same time, the lack of communication and partnership between various government and private sector organizations also makes it difficult to address the challenge of financial literacy in low-income areas. We have to come up with measures where the central bank, parliament, banking sector, regulatory authorities, and others are all on the same page.

We know people are willing to work and learn. All they need is guidance and facilitation. We focus on women too and we have plans to scale up women’s entrepreneurship efforts further. The key in microfinance is to build trust and we have been able to maintain that trust with the people of these areas for a long time. They put their trust in us, which is why we have been able to successfully launch programs.

We also believe in advocacy and advanced thinking process, and these have been able to make things progress in a positive direction. From small-scale to developing banking relationships and linkages to scale up social entrepreneurship, we have come a long way.

BRR: Moving into the for-profit organization, can you share your business viability and recent growth?

SA: Today we have 53 branches; over 775,000 clients served to date; and over 125,000 active clients. We are focusing on digitalization and investing in technology for quick connectivity and client facilitation. We are also scaling up our housing project in terms of microfinance loans given out. We are also focusing on the energy needs of the people, especially with solar power.

In the agriculture sector, we are working on a single window service plan for the farmers for the availability of all inputs with the use of our debit cards. This will be launched soon. It got delayed due to COVID and floods last year.

We also believe that micro insurance is an acute need of people from low-income brackets. The need was felt severely after the floods from last year. There are products available in these, but there is no implementation. We will focus on crop insurance for small and micro farmers because we believe that we have the capacity.

We are also working on the diversification of our operations into other districts as well. The institution is resilient, and certified, and we have been able to maintain operational self-sufficiency and a positive return on equity over the tenure of the organization. Moreover, we have not just been a profit-generating institution, but also a leader in social performance and these make us attractive for investment.

BRR: Could you shed some light on the legal structure of the organization? And what is the importance of succession planning at your organization?

SA: We have a complete succession model in the planning after discussions and multiple workshops that include the PMN. We want to continue growing and for that, a thorough succession plan is crucial for the organization as it protects from any sudden and unexpected changes; reveals vulnerabilities and identifies skill gaps; promotes training and development in the organization; and preserves brand integrity and reputation.

Since the beginning, the microfinance sector has gone through significant changes. And we being the pioneers in the industry had to adapt accordingly, which warranted changes in the organization’s legal structure. We started as a cooperative and then shifted to a coordinating organization. Later we registered with the SECP and became a specialized microfinance institute (MFI).