KARACHI (PRESS RELEASE)
Pakistan’s leading microfinance institution, Telenor Microfinance Bank, has entered into a partnership with Thardeep Microfinance Foundation (TMF), a leading Pakistani nonprofit working for poverty alleviation, for swift and secure digital disbursals and repayment of credits to the beneficiaries in rural areas of the Sindh province.
Under the agreement, loan disbursements and repayments could now be conducted swiftly and securely over-the-counter through Easypaisa in such marginalized districts of the Sindh province as Tharparkar, Umerkot, Dadu, Jamshoro, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Hyderabad, Nawabshah, Naushahro Feroze, Tando Allahyar, Sujawal and Badin.
“We have always focused on empowering and financially including the marginalized segment of the Pakistani population at Telenor Bank,” said Mr. Shahid Mustafa, President & CEO – Telenor Microfinance Bank, “We recognize Thardeep as one of the leaders of digital transformation in the Microfinance sector and we are happy to work closely with them to try to move their loan disbursal and collection to the Easypaisa platform. Through this partnership we will be bringing underserved people into the fold of financial inclusion and freeing them of the conventional hassle associated with monetary transactions in these poorly connected areas.”
“We are pleased to have partnered with Telenor Bank to facilitate the people of rural Sindh in fast and hassle-free disbursal and repayment of loans,” said Dr. Sono Khangharani – CEO, Thardeep Microfinance Foundation. “As we work with a mission to enhance the choices of marginalized people achieve greater impact on reducing poverty by working with all stakeholders, this partnership will expedite our pursuit to these goals by bringing formal financial solutions to the previously unserved people.”
To ensure smooth operations, a comprehensive training session for Thardeep Microfinance Foundation field employees was also recently conducted by the Easypaisa team in Karachi. Up to 80,000 beneficiaries in the target districts will benefit from the partnership and So far 20,000 beneficiaries are targeted in the pilot disbursement. They will be converted into M-Wallet.