Pakistan: Citi Foundation Grants US$10,000 to Akhuwat

In line with its objective to support the development of microfinance and microentrepreneurship in Pakistan, Citi Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Citi, has extended a grant of US$ 10,000 to the Lahore-based Akhuwat, a microfinance institution catering specifically to the credit needs of underprivileged men and women. The grant will used to promote Akhuwat’s micro lending products.

The partnership between Akhuwat and Citi was commemorated at a ceremony in Lahore in the presence of senior Citi and Akhuwat representatives and the guest of honor Malcolm Harper, a long-time practitioner with extensive microfinance experience in India and director of a number of other institutions in the United Kingdom.

Head of Corporate Banking for Citi Lahore, Wasif Reza, said “Akhuwat’s major focus of alleviating poverty by economically empowering low income groups has been a key driver in our recommending it for the grant – it has a demonstrated record of success particularly in Punjab where it has helped stabilize over 35,000 households through its products and more importantly its training and social guidance programs designed for the poor.”

Dr. M. Amjad Saqib, Executive Director at Akhuwat, said, “Citi has played a significant role in the development of the local microfinance sector and this grant is just one of the many initiatives they have taken in the past four years, to this effect. We are extremely grateful for their support and look forward to having a long and prosperous alliance with them”

Citi recognizes the global benefits of a robust microfinance industry such as poverty reduction and local sustainable economic growth and development and has worked extensively in this regard through its awards program, its Global Microfinance Network Strengthening Program with SEEP Network, its financial education for women program in interior Sind with TRDP and nationwide with Tameer Foundation Trust, product development initiatives with Kashf Foundation as well as equity placements with a microfinance bank. Citi also arranged the first commercial funding transaction for an MFI in Pakistan in 2007 – a landmark transaction that opened up alternative sources of funding for the local sectorCiti also recently concluded its Microentrepreneurship Awards program instituted and conducted in 24 countries including Pakistan with the broad aim of increasing global awareness of the important role that micro-entrepreneurs play in their local economies.