LAHORE: The first non-banking finance company focusing on affordable education in Pakistan has secured a $2.6 million investment from a regional investment firm.

The Taleem Finance Company Limited (TFCL) has received the investment from Insitor Impact Asia Fund II, which is managed by Insitor Partners. A formal event was organised to mark the understanding at a local hotel.

The TFCL was seeded by Gray Matters Capital Inc. (GMC), a company incorporated in Atlanta, USA, and provides customised financial products to low- and middle-income schools, teachers, and parents.

Since the start of its commercial operations in 2020, TFCL has disbursed approximately Rs400 million to about 600 clients in the education ecosystem across 14 cities of Punjab and plans to enhance its outreach across the country in the coming years.

The Insitor’s investment will enable the company to further expand financial access to the nation’s underserved education system.

Amjad Arbab, the chairman of TFCL, and the company’s CEO, Kamran Azim, praised the TFCL team’s perseverance in pursuing its mission and expressed confidence that Insitor’s investment will enable the company to continue to measurably improve the quality of low-income education across the country.

In a video message, GMC’s founder Bob Pattillo expressed his admiration for the TFCL’s board and management, which have not lost sight of their goal despite the current poor economic scenario.

“I hope that this investment in TFCL will be just the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership between our two companies, where together we will make a significant contribution to transforming Pakistan’s education ecosystem,” said Hammad Umer, the country manager of Insitor.

In his closing remarks, Nicholas Lazos, the director of Insitor, thanked TFCL for its commitment and promised that his company’s management would continue to support the creation of an enabling environment for investment in the education sector in Pakistan. He also wished the TFCL team success in their future plans.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022