With the Kashf Foundation, Standard Chartered Bank has a distribution agreement. Standard Chartered will make Kashf Gender Bonds available to the bank’s non-individual business banking clients through this arrangement.
An important step towards the government’s agenda of economic empowerment and financial inclusion for women in Pakistan is this distribution arrangement of the Kashf Gender Bond. The proceeds from the bond will be used to fund microfinance loans for projects that support women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurship, business support, flood recovery, education, and home renovation, to name a few. Due to its AAA long-term rating, market-competitive returns, and InfraZamin’s guarantee, the bond also presents a fantastic value proposition for the bank’s clientele. Along with two quarterly interest payments, InfraZamin is guaranteeing the entire principal amount.
Saadya Riaz, Head CPBB, Standard Chartered Bank; Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director, Kashf Foundation; and Maheen Rahman, CEO, InfraZamin, all witnessed the signing of this agreement during a ceremony in Lahore.
“At Standard Chartered, we are strongly focused on lifting the participation of women, and we feel privileged to have partnered with the Kashf Foundation for this impactful venture,” said Saadya Riaz, Head CPBB, Standard Chartered.
We make a sincere effort to provide solutions that are appropriate for our clients’ needs. We offer our clients top-tier investment and protection solutions through our wealth management platform. Due to the bond’s high credit rating, competitive return in the market, and InfraZamin’s guarantee, this arrangement gives us the chance to provide real value to our clients, and we anticipate a strong appetite for it.
Kashf Foundation’s founder and managing director, Roshaneh Zafar, claimed that the organisation has consistently been at the forefront of investing in cutting-edge financial services for women. The gender bond will connect women from disadvantaged backgrounds to capital markets, a sector that is frequently disregarded, making finance accessible to them. We appreciate InfraZamin for playing a significant role in serving as a guarantee that will increase investor confidence. The Kashf Foundation and Standard Chartered Bank’s distribution agreement represents a significant advancement for the financial industry. Which in turn will make a significant contribution to the nation’s sustainable economic growth and build a strong business case for investing in women.
Maheen Rahman, CEO of Infrazamin, said: We are thrilled to be a part of Pakistan’s first gender bond transaction and thankful to the Kashf Foundation for their trailblazing vision towards their long history of promoting women’s empowerment. This transaction represents a significant step forward in raising commercial capital intended for female empowerment and financial inclusion and marks an important turning point in the development and growth of the capital market in a nation that ranks close to the bottom of the Gender Equity Index. This transaction also demonstrates the effectiveness of using guarantees and credit enhancement tools to encourage private institutional investment in projects that are driven by the private sector.
