ISLAMABAD: Mobilink Bank has achieved significant growth in Loan Disbursement and Gross Loan Portfolio (GLP) in two crucial sectors – Women and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as evidenced by its H1 2023 results.
(more…)Tag: women empowerment
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President, PM messages on International Women’s Day
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in their messages on International Women’s Day recognized the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
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Women’s Day celebrated with theme of embracing for equity
KARACHI: The Overseas Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI), partnered with Unilever Pakistan and Circle, marked International Women’s Day with an event to celebrate the opportunities and challenges of enabling equity within the workplace.
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Pakistan Stock becomes signatory of women’s empowered principles
KARACHI: To promote increased women participation, gender equality and adopting gender-responsive policies, Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) has become a signatory of Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), according to a statement issued on Wednesday.
WEPs, the founding partners of which are UN Women and UN Global Compact, are a set of Principles aimed at advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in the workplace, marketplace and community. WEPs provide guidelines for corporates to deliver on gender equality standards of the 2030 agenda and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The WEPs constitute of seven basic principles to leverage the corporate world towards the goal of achieving a society prioritising gender equality, sustainability and growth. These seven principles are leadership, equality, health & safety, education & training, transparency, community, and markets.
Speaking at the occasion of PSX becoming a signatory of WEPs, the MD & CEO PSX, Farrukh H. Khan, stated: “By becoming a signatory of Women Empowerment Principles, we have sent a strong message that PSX is committed to and supports gender equality and women empowerment.
“PSX has therefore reinforced its commitment to becoming a model corporate for attracting greater talent, regardless of gender or any other considerations. Gender equality is a prerequisite for progressive societies and businesses, encapsulating the standards of sustainability and growth.”
He further stated: “Pakistan Stock Exchange, learning from the Women Empowerment Principles, will be focused on further strengthening our policies of gender equality, sustainability and growth.
“As a frontline regulator and listed entity, we believe that adopting these principles will help augment the business of the Exchange while caring for the community, thereby becoming a positive force for change. While adhering to international best practices in terms of all our functions, we at PSX will now be able to become a role model for listed companies in this particular domain as well.”
Sharmeela Rassool, UN Women Pakistan, while appreciating PSX for becoming a signatory of WEPs and said, “UN Women believes organization like Pakistan Stock Exchange’s plays a leading role in shaping attitudes, challenging discrimination, harmful practices and developing a workplace where everyone is valued – regardless of their race, gender identity and expression, religion, or disability. This signing will create a real impact on gender equality through commitment and action.”
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Women entrepreneurs organize breast cancer awareness seminar
KARACHI: Women entrepreneurs belonging to various chambers and associations have organized a seminar for awareness on breast.
Women Entrepreneurs Committee of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Karachi Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malir (KWCCI Malir) in collaboration with Samina Alvi Task force organized a seminar on Breast Cancer Awareness aimed at providing awareness to women about this disease.
In the seminar, President FPCCI, Irfan Sheikh, SVP Suleman Chawla, VP Shabbir Mansha Churra, VP Haji Yaqoob, VP Engr. M. A. Jabbar, VP Shaukat Omerson, Convener Women Entrepreneurs Committee FPCCI and Founder President, KWCCI District Malir, Nazli Abid Nisar, MNA Syma Nadeem, Member Samina Alvi Task Force Misbah Khalid, Dr. Kausar, Plastic Surgeon and Breast Cancer Specialist, South City, Shahid Khan, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce VP, FPCCI Rafat Alam, Dr Sana Mirza, Chairperson and associate professor, Lums, SVP KWCCI District Malir Afzala Shaheen , VP Yasmeen Arif and Farah khan were also attended the awareness session.
Irfan Iqbal, FPCCI President, said that it is very important for women to be healthy for the formation of a strong society. FPCCI provided 2 vans equipped with modern medical facilities to Cancer Care for providing healthy life to women, and 300 women were tested out of which 11 women were found to have breast cancer.
Nazli Abid Nisar, Convener FPCCI Women Entrepreneurs Committee and Founder President of Karachi Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry Malir, said that we have been organizing seminars with the support of Samina Alvi Task Force for 3 years and to prevent women from this disease. Providing awareness.
“If a woman is healthy and strong, then a strong society will be formed and women can work by sitting at home alongside men”, she said.
Nazli Abid was of the view that we want to reach the government from the platform of FPCCI to provide medical teams in cities and villages to prevent breast cancer so that women can be made aware of their health and provide treatment facilities.
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FBR suggested fixed tax regime for women entrepreneurs
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been suggested to introduce fixed tax regime for women entrepreneurs in order to facilitate and encourage businesswomen.
The suggestion was made by women entrepreneurs at a meeting with the chairman of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
READ MORE: FBR announces prize winners of 9th POS balloting
FBR chairman Asim Ahmad held meeting with the office bearers of Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry (IWCCI) on Friday to listen tax-related issues and concerns of women entrepreneurs.
The office bearers, Ms Naima Ansari, President, Ms Samina Fazil, Founder President and Ms Zaheema Eckbaull Khattak, Chief Executive Officer, informed the Chairman FBR that women entrepreneurs are facing hardships in tax compliance such as timely return filing and high cost of filing charged by tax practitioners, which is also discouraging new women entrepreneurs to register their businesses with the FBR. They suggested that fixed tax regime for small women entrepreneurs may be introduced. They also requested that awareness sessions on filing tax returns and tax compliance procedures may be arranged in Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry of major cities to encourage women entrepreneurs to make tax compliance with ease.
READ MORE: FBR updates salary tax card for year 2022-2023
The Chairman FBR appreciated the suggestions put forth by the office bearer of IWCCI representing more than 1,000 women entrepreneurs and assured them that their valued input would be duly considered for launching initiatives to facilitate women entrepreneurs especially belonging to remote and marginalized areas.
READ MORE: Sindh exempts tax on services provided for flood relief
The Chairman FBR has issued directions to establish special desk at Gwadar for addressing grievances and concerns of women entrepreneurs and to facilitate them in filing tax returns. Furthermore, the Chairman FBR has issued directions to field formations to hold awareness sessions in WCCI of major cities for facilitation of women entrepreneurs concerning tax compliance.
Member Policy along with Chief Income Tax Policy and Chief Sales Tax Policy were also present in the meeting.
READ MORE: SBP allows flood relief donations through home remittance channel
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Workshop held to encourage women entrepreneurs for online businesses
KARACHI: A workshop on digital marketing was held to encourage women entrepreneurs and promote online businesses. The Women Entrepreneurs Committee of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Karachi Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry Malir (KWCCI Malir) in collaboration with Small & Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) organized a one-day workshop on Digital Marketing through Facebook and Instagram, so that to encourage Women Entrepreneurs and to promote online businesses.
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ADA to improve women’s financial inclusion
KARACHI: Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday said that Asaan Digital Account (ADA) will break the barriers in financial inclusion of women.
It offers faster, cheaper, efficient and convenient solutions for meeting women’s requirements. “Asaan Digital Account is a fully digitized solution for opening a full-service bank account from anywhere, at any time, through smartphones or computers with only a CNIC and no other documentation requirements.”
READ MORE: SBP organizes discussion on ‘promise of digital banks’
SBP governor was addressing at an event to celebrate the journey of women’s financial inclusion in Pakistan.
The SBP, in collaboration with Bank Alfalah, Standard Chartered Bank and UBL hosted an event titled ‘Asaan Digital Account: Breaking Barriers’
Dr. Baqir lauded the contributions of women in various fields and stressed that women empowerment is the key to socio-economic developments in the country.
He observed that gender gaps do not allow women the same freedom to avail opportunities, rights and obligations in all walks of life as compared to men. However, the International Women’s Day encourages us to pause and reflect on the systemic barriers that limit women in their pursuits. He stressed the need to reflect and renew the sense of ambition, and transformative possibility around gender equality in financial services space.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s e-banking registers sharp increase in 1QFY22
Dr. Reza Baqir pointed out that, traditionally, women’s participation in financial services has remained low due to persistent barriers such as cumbersome documentation requirements, proximity to the bank branches and availability of suitable products which together with the constraining social and cultural norms, have prevented women from availing even the basic financial services such as owning a bank account.
The SBP governor went on to add that SBP is breaking these barriers and addressing women’s financial inclusion through various initiatives such as: Banking on Equality Policy, Raast – Pakistan’s first instant payment system, a comprehensive ‘Customers’ Digital Onboarding Framework’, to facilitate convenient opening of bank accounts, Asaan Mobile Account where anyone with a simple feature phone can open and use an account by dialing *2262#.
READ MORE: SBP imposes Rs1.45 billion penalty on 18 banks in 2021
In the same vein, SBP has also launched various financing schemes such as SBP Refinance and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Women Entrepreneurs, SME Asaan Finance or SAAF Initiative, and Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme etc., and a country -wide National Financial Literacy Program which is imparting essential financial education to the masses.
Dr. Reza Baqir highlighted that these initiatives are already bridging the gender gaps in financial sector and services, however, he stressed that more needs to be done. He encouraged women to open their bank accounts through the newly introduced Asaan Digital Account while urging all banks to take measures to make the account opening process more simple, increase the value proposition for women, and market the features to expand their outreach.
READ MORE: SBP imposes penalty of Rs58 million on five banks
Group Head Bank Alfalah Ms. Mehreen Ahmed in her address said that Bank Alfalah has been playing its part for a number of years now, in helping women across many segments of the economy to become financially independent. She said her Bank has been enabling women entrepreneurs with initial funding to start their new ventures as well as providing funding for growing their already established businesses.
CEO Standard Chartered Bank Rehan Shaikh in his address said that women are an integral constituent of our society and their full and equal participation in all facets of society is a fundamental human right. He lauded the efforts of State Bank of Pakistan for playing a leading role in creating an environment to push the frontiers in this space. He went on to add that with continued focus and support by the State Bank of Pakistan, the banking industry is embracing digital transformation.
Speaking on the occasion, President & CEO, United Bank Limited Mr. Shazad Dada congratulated the State Bank of Pakistan on Asaan Digital Account initiative and termed its resounding success to its simplicity and accessibility to customers from all over Pakistan, including unbanked regions. He observed that the account is ideal for the women of Pakistan as it can be opened from anywhere and there is no need to visit a branch to open or maintain the account.
The event was attended by heads of financial institutions, influential women leaders, and prominent figures from various walks of life. On this occasion SCB, UBL and Bank Alfalah had set up stalls where the audience experienced live account opening of Asaan Digital Accounts.
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State Bank to celebrate women’s financial inclusion
KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has said it will celebrate the journey of women’s financial inclusion in Pakistan.
In this regard the central bank, in collaboration with UBL, Standard Chartered Bank, and Bank Alfalah, will be hosting an event titled “Asaan Digital Account: Breaking Barriers”, on March 07, 2022.
READ MORE: SBP organizes discussion on ‘promise of digital banks’
The SBP governor Dr. Reza Baqir, will be the chief guest of the event.
The event will celebrate the role and contributions of women in our economy and SBP will introduce its flagship Asaan Digital Account, which is a fully digitized solution for opening a full service bank account with CNIC and no other documentation requirements from anywhere, at any time, through smartphones or computers.
READ MORE: Pakistan’s e-banking registers sharp increase in 1QFY22
In this spirit, the event has been titled as “Bila rukawat – Asaan Digital Account” in Urdu to allude to the seamless access to banking that will now be available to all Pakistanis, especially women in their palms.
The Asaan Digital Account provides availability and accessibility of financial services to customers with the click of a few buttons.
READ MORE: SBP imposes Rs1.45 billion penalty on 18 banks in 2021
More importantly, these accounts are particularly helpful for women as it overcomes the barriers such as lack of documentation, proximity to bank branches and other social and cultural norms that have traditionally and disproportionally limited women’s access to bank accounts and hampered their financial inclusion.
READ MORE: SBP imposes penalty of Rs58 million on five banks
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Jazz recognized for driving change beyond workplace
KARACHI: To recognize the commitment in improving the lives and livelihood of women through technology, the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) awarded Jazz with the ‘Driving Change Beyond Workplace’ award at the Women Empowerment Awards 2021 held on Thursday.
Abdul Aleem, Secretary General, OICCI presented the award to Wajida Leclerc, Chief People Officer, Jazz.
READ MORE: OICCI organizes Women Empowerment Awards
Jazz is dedicated to enhancing diversity and women’s empowerment within its business model and focuses on uplifting women in the society through the power of the internet.
Female specific products and services are designed to help address many of the wider gender inequalities by digitally enabling them to access health, financial, and other life-enhancing services.
READ MORE: Jazz Digital Park inaugurated in Islamabad
The company’s digital financial service, JazzCash, under the GSMA Connected Women Commitment Initiative, has committed to increase the proportion of women in their mobile money customer base by 2023. In addition, all its sustainability programs ensure 50% women participation ranging from urban to rural areas so women can lead the change.
“Inclusivity being at the heart of all our policies, we have always paved the way for gender equality within the organization as well as the society at large. This recognition further validates our holistic approach towards empowering women internally and externally and renews our vigor as we move forward in our journey of creating a digitally inclusive ecosystem in Pakistan,” said Wajida Leclerc, Chief People Officer, Jazz.
READ MORE: Jazz’s investment in Pakistan crosses $10 billion
Jazz is an equal opportunity employer and is creating and nurturing an inclusive and empowering culture. It’s one of the first telecom companies with a high female representation in its executive leadership. Not only does the company promote gender diversity in its work environment, it also has programs focused entirely on attracting and facilitating the female gender including the most recent ‘She’s Back – Women Returnship Program’ for women looking to return to work following a career break. Jazz is among the few early adopters in Pakistan to fully commit itself to the Women Empowerment Principles, introduced by UN Women and the UN Global Compact that focus on steering corporates to promote gender equality and women empowerment.
Champions of Change Coalition, a globally recognized, high-profile coalition working to achieve change on gender equality issues recently welcomed Jazz CEO Aamir Ibrahim as the coalition’s member aiming to accelerate progress in creating more inclusive and progressive organizations in Pakistan.