Pakistan Joins Global Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code Initiative to Boost Economy

The State Bank of Pakistan has officially joined the global Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code initiative, partnering with the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, to reduce the gender finance gap and improve women's financial inclusion and economic participation. The initiative, backed by a $500 million financing programme from the ADB, aims to boost Pakistan's GDP by up to 30 percent through greater involvement of women in the economy.

Key Takeaways:

• The State Bank-led effort aims to improve women's access to finance by expanding loan eligibility and other banking services, with 20 banks and financial institutions committing to support the initiative.
• The Women Inclusive Finance Sector Development Programme in Pakistan, supported by the ADB, combines policy-based lending and technical assistance to deliver reforms and expand financial access to over 2 million women.
• Financial inclusion of women is critical for inclusive growth, and initiatives such as the State Bank's Banking on Equality policy are starting to shift institutional mindsets and embed gender inclusion in the financial system.
• State Bank representative Abid Qamar cited studies showing that gender parity and empowerment could add up to $28 trillion to global GDP and bridge the gender gap could raise GDP by nearly 30 percent in countries, including Pakistan.
• Expanding banking services to women could increase bank revenues by up to $650 million in Pakistan, and 17 million women are currently employed in various sectors out of 79 million working-age women in the country.
• The initiative supports progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 5, which focuses on gender equality and women's empowerment, and the State Bank will work with various stakeholders to create an inclusive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.

Statistics:

• The initiative aims to expand financial access to over 2 million women in Pakistan.
• Expanding banking services to women could increase bank revenues by up to $650 million in Pakistan.
• Pakistan's Current GDP could increase by 30% with the correct involvement of women, and the narrowing of the gender gap could add around $500 billion to the regional economy.
• $28 trillion could be added to the global GDP with the correct empowerment of women.
• 22 percent of the workforce in Pakistan is comprised of women with only 164,000 women entrepreneurs in the country.
• 79 million working-age women in Pakistan are currently not fully employed.

Sources:

• Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• The State Bank of Pakistan
• World Bank