Pakistan microfinance conference pushes beyond access to outcomes
The Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) has concluded its 10th Annual Microfinance Conference (AMC-X) in Karachi, bringing together government officials, regulators, financial institutions, development partners and experts to set the direction of the sector's next phase. The event was organised with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation under the EU-funded Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development across Rural Sindh (PAIDAR) programme, and ran under the theme "Pathways for Inclusive Growth: Unlocking Synergies".
Discussions centred on moving beyond financial access towards client progression, resilience and measurable economic outcomes, with particular attention to women, farmers, microenterprises and underserved rural communities. The framing marks a shift in emphasis for a sector long measured by the number of borrowers reached.
Addressing the conference virtually, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb placed financial inclusion within Pakistan's wider transition from macroeconomic stabilisation towards sustainable growth. He called for greater use of cash flow-based rather than collateral-based lending, digital credit tools and alternative data to draw more borrowers into formal finance, particularly in agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises. "It's not just how much you lend, how many borrowers you have, but also start measuring outcomes," he said, identifying borrower graduation, job creation and women's economic participation as measures of success.
Opening the conference, Amir Khan, chairman of PMN and president and chief executive of HBL Microfinance Bank, argued that microfinance should be integrated into the wider financial system. "The principle behind everything to follow is to mainstream microfinance into the financial ecosystem, not as a parallel track," he said. Khan added that the sector's next decade should be judged not only by outreach but by whether clients were able to progress towards stronger businesses, assets and financial independence.
