{"id":5999,"date":"2025-10-10T09:57:01","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T04:57:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pkfin.kotenterprises.dev\/?p=5999"},"modified":"2025-10-10T09:57:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T04:57:01","slug":"pakistans-financial-inclusion-reaches-67-as-gender-gap-narrows-to-30-says-sbp-governor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pkfin.kotenterprises.dev\/?p=5999","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan\u2019s Financial Inclusion Reaches 67% as Gender Gap Narrows to 30%: Says SBP Governor"},"content":{"rendered":"

KARACHI:<\/strong> Pakistan\u2019s financial inclusion has made remarkable progress, rising from 47 percent in 2018 to 67 percent by June 2025<\/strong>, while the gender gap in financial access has narrowed from 47 percent to 30 percent<\/strong> over the same period, according to State Bank of Pakistan<\/a> (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the ninth Annual Microfinance Conference in Karachi<\/strong>, the Governor attributed this progress to a series of transformative digital initiatives<\/strong> introduced over recent years. These include Raast<\/strong>, Asaan Mobile Account (AMA)<\/strong>, Roshan Digital Account (RDA)<\/strong>, and the launch of Digital Banks<\/strong>, as well as the Banking on Equality Policy<\/strong>, which focuses on promoting women\u2019s financial inclusion.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Governor Ahmad reaffirmed the headline targets of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2028<\/strong> \u2014 to expand overall financial inclusion to 75 percent<\/strong> and further reduce the gender gap to 25 percent by 2028<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

On the external sector<\/strong>, the Governor highlighted that Pakistan\u2019s foreign exchange reserves are now nearly five times higher<\/strong> than the level recorded in February 2023<\/strong>, primarily due to strategic interbank foreign exchange purchases<\/strong> aimed at strengthening the country\u2019s financial buffers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHad we not built up our reserves from interbank purchases, the government would have needed to borrow significantly higher amounts, at higher interest rates, to make timely debt repayments,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n

Governor Ahmad also announced the launch of a Climate Risk Fund<\/strong> under the World Bank-funded Resilient and Accessible Microfinance Project<\/strong>, designed to support two million borrowers<\/strong> through liquidity facilities to mitigate the effects of climate shocks.<\/p>\n

In addition, the SBP \u2014 with the support of the Government of Pakistan<\/strong> \u2014 has introduced a Risk Coverage Scheme for Small Farmers and Underserved Areas<\/strong>, offering 10 percent first-loss coverage<\/strong> and operational incentives<\/strong> to expand lending in regions such as Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Governor concluded by emphasizing that these measures collectively reflect SBP\u2019s continued commitment to fostering inclusive, sustainable, and resilient economic growth<\/strong> across Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KARACHI: Pakistan’s financial inclusion has made remarkable progress, rising from 47 percent in 2018 to 67 percent by June 2025, while the gender gap in financial access has narrowed from 47 percent to 30 percent over the same period, according to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad. Speaking at the ninth Annual Microfinance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post","format-standard"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t