The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $155.5 million in financing for supporting policy reforms to enhance women’s and women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises’s access to finance.
As per media reports, the financing includes a $100 million policy-based loan to support legal and regulatory reforms, a $50 million financial intermediation loan and a $5.5 million grant for finance related activities.
“Inclusive, resilient and sustainable development cannot be achieved if women do not have equal economic opportunities and benefits,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov in a statement on Monday.
“ADB’s new program will help transform Pakistan’s current financing ecosystem to help women to access much-needed finance and empower them to boost their livelihoods while contributing significantly to the economy.”
As per the ADP, female labor force participation in Pakistan is just 23 per cent.
Besides, Pakistan is also amongest countries with the lowest rates of women’s entrepreneurship in the world at 4pc.
The ADP stated that Pakistan’s financial inclusion is improving but women are increasingly left behind with a large gender finance gap which currently stands at 34pc.
“Policies must recognize the importance of women entrepreneurship and create an enabling environment that increases women’s participation in the formal economy and gives them more opportunities to grow their businesses,” The ADP officials stated.
The ADB said that the policy-based loan of $100 million supports reforms that incorporate women’s needs into national policies, such as the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Banking on Equality Policy that requires banks to establish departments dedicated to providing services to women.
The ADB said it supports measures enabling women’s access to credit and credit alternatives through digital channels, providing financial training and advisory services to women, and improving the working conditions of women within the finance sector.
Meanwhile, the $50 million financial intermediation loan is expected to benefit around 2 million women entrepreneurs, including about 510,000 who previously had no access to finance, through lending via participating financial institutions, said ADB.
Lastly, the $5.5 million grant will finance activities such as the development of financial literacy programs and a digital platform that links women to financial services.
