Press Releases 2008
USAID Successfully Completes Microfinance Project for Low-Income Clients
March 28, 2008
The U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated today the successful completion of its Widening Harmonized Access to Microfinance (WHAM) project, which extended financial services to low-income clients in
Pakistan.
“During the past three years, USAID‘s WHAM project has identified new trends and anticipated solutions to emerging problems in the microfinance sector of Pakistan,” said USAID/Pakistan Mission Director Anne Aarnes. “Our efforts have contributed to an expansion of financial services that produced a three-fold increase in borrowers from 500,000 in 2005 to 1,500,000 by the end of 2007.”
In a ceremony to celebrate the project’s success, the USAID Director and Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, presented awards and certificates of appreciation to WHAM’s key partners for their contributions to the success of the project.
Implemented by ShoreBank International, in coordination with the State Bank of
Pakistan and the Pakistan Microfinance Network, USAID’s $4.9 million WHAM project made it possible for
Pakistan’s microfinance sector to extend financial services to three million new borrowers by 2010. The project worked with commercial banks and microfinance institutions to accommodate the needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises and fill the gap between microfinance and commercial banking.
WHAM provided consulting, training, and technology to National Bank of Pakistan, Standard Chartered Bank, Crescent Commercial Bank, Kashf Foundation, Tameer Microfinance, National Rural Support Program, Asasah, First Microfinance Bank, and Khushhali Bank.
Support for WHAM is part of the $1.5 billion in aid the United States is providing to Pakistan, through USAID, over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance and to reconstruct areas affected by October 2005 earthquake.
