Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically lack collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credit history. It is designed to support entrepreneurship and alleviate poverty. Many recipients are illiterate, and therefore unable to complete paperwork required to get conventional loans. As of 2009 an estimated 74 million people held microloans that totaled US$38 billion. Grameen Bank reports that repayment success rates are between 95 and 98 percent. The first economist who had invented the idea of micro loans was Jonathan Swift in the 1720’s. Microcredit is part of microfinance, which provides a wider range of financial services, especially savings accounts, to the poor. Modern microcredit is generally considered to have originated with the Grameen Bank founded in Bangladesh in 1983. Many traditional banks subsequently introduced microcredit despite initial misgivings. The United Nations declared 2005 the International Year of Microcredit. As of 2012, microcredit is widely used in developing countries and is presented as having "enormous potential as a tool for poverty alleviation." Microcredit is a tool that can possibly be helpful to reduce feminization of poverty in developing countries.
Microfinance is a of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings and checking accounts; microinsurance; and payment systems, among other services. Microfinance services are designed to reach excluded customers, usually poorer population segments, possibly socially marginalized, or geographically more isolated, and to help them become self-sufficient. ID Ghana is an example of a microfinance institution.
HBL Microfinance Bank Ltd (HBL MfB) is a Pakistani microfinance bank headquartered in Islamabad. HBL MfB operates over 200 locations all over Pakistan. It is one of the oldest microfinance bank in the country with its roots in the credit and saving section of the Agha Khan Rural Support Program (AKRSP). The Bank offers a suite of conventional and digital banking products for its customers.
Double bottom line seeks to extend the conventional bottom line, which measures fiscal performance—financial profit or loss—by adding a second bottom line to measure a for-profit business's performance in terms of positive social impact. There is controversy about how to measure the double bottom line, especially since the use of the term "bottom line" implies some form of quantification. A 2004 report by the Center for Responsible Business noted that while there are "generally accepted principles of accounting" for financial returns, "A comparable standard for social impact accounting does not yet exist." Social return on investment has been suggested as a way to quantify the second bottom line, though defining and measuring social impact can prove elusive.
United Bank Limited (UBL) (Urdu: یونائیٹڈ بینک) is a Pakistani commercial bank headquartered in Karachi. It is a subsidiary of British multinational conglomerate, Bestway Group.
Habib Bank Limited commonly known as HBL, is a Pakistani commercial bank based at Habib Bank Plaza, Karachi, Pakistan.
Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.
Seylan Bank PLC is a publicly owned Commercial Bank in Sri Lanka. It has branches in both urban and rural areas of Sri Lanka. Seylan bank had 167 banking centres island-wide, 3000 staff members, an ATM network of 205 units covering crucial locations, 9 branches providing 365-day banking in 2020. The bank was formed as a licensed commercial bank incorporated with a shareholder base.
The Association for Social Advancement is a non-governmental organisation based in Bangladesh which provides microcredit financing.
Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited or BFIL is a banking & finance company (NBFC), licensed by the Reserve Bank of India. It was founded in 1997 by Vikram Akula, who served as its executive chair until working. The company's mission is to provide financial services to the poor under the premise that providing financial service to poor borrowers helps to alleviate poverty. In 2011, the company operated across 11 Indian states.
WorldCall Telecom Limited is a Pakistani telecommunication and multimedia service provider based in Lahore, Pakistan. It is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Bank Makramah Limited, formerly Summit Bank, is a Pakistani Islamic bank based in Karachi, Pakistan.
Easypaisa is a Pakistani mobile wallet, mobile payments and branchless banking services provider. It was founded in October 2009 by Telenor Pakistan. It also provides digital payment services through a QR code in partnership with Masterpass and it is the only GSMA mobile money certified service in Pakistan.
Sapphire Textile, also known as Sapphire Group, is a Pakistani vertically integrated textile manufacturer, producing cotton yarn, fabric, and finished garments. It is based in Lahore, Pakistan.
Telenor Microfinance Bank, formerly Tameer Microfinance Bank, is a Pakistani microfinance bank which is based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded in 2006 by Nadeem Hussain as Tameer Microfinance Bank, which was later acquired by Telenor Pakistan.
Jana Small Finance Bank is a small finance bank that commenced operations on March 28, 2018, headquartered in Bangalore, India.
Tobacco industry in Pakistan is a major employment provider in farming, manufacturing, distribution, and retail in Pakistan. Most of the agricultural cultivation is based in Charsadda District, Mardan District, Nowshera District, and Swabi District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Sultan Ali Allana is a Pakistani banker who is chairman of Habib Bank Limited and a director of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development. He is a recipient of Hilal-i-Imtiaz in 2006 and Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2022 for his services to Pakistan.
Khushali, a word originating in Persian, where it means 'happiness, prosperity', can refer to:
Rs. 6.358 billion (US$22 million) (2023)
