Meezan Bank signed an agreement to provide Shariah technical services and support and branchless banking services to Edbiz Consulting (Pvt) Ltd in collaboration with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
Irfan Siddiqui, president and CEO of Meezan Bank, Humayon Dar, CEO of Edbiz Consulting and Saeed Ahmed, SBP’s director agricultural credit and micro-finance department, signed the agreement.
SBP is implementing the financial inclusion programme – Financial Innovation Challenge Fund (FICF), sponsored by the UK Aid, with the aim to improve access to financial services in Pakistan.
FICF aims to support pilot projects with focus on innovation in rural and agricultural finance in Pakistan. The proposal shared by Meezan Bank and Edbiz Consulting for the second challenge round of FICF was approved by the FICF committee of SBP.
Under this project, Edbiz consulting will establish a Mudarabah for the purpose of rural and agricultural financing with Akhuwat being the Micro Finance Service Provider (MFSP) on ground.
Meezan Bank being the knowledge partner will provide Shariah technical services and support including capacity building, public awareness seminars, rural and agricultural research, product development, Shariah audit and other related services of Islamic finance along with branchless banking services.
This six-month pilot project will pave the way for developing Meezan Bank’s rural, agricultural and micro-financing portfolio along with an opportunity to explore the untapped area of micro-savings through Branchless Banking.