EBM recognised for gender diversity

Pakistan’s leading local fast-moving consumer goods company, English Biscuit Manufacturers (Pvt.) Ltd (EBM) won the Gender Diversity at Workplace Award 2022 — Local Corporates in the 19th Annual Excellence Awards Ceremony held by the CFA Society Pakistan, as per a press release. This prestigious accolade is a testament to EBM’s commitment to empowering and promoting gender diversity in the workplace.

The Annual Excellence Awards recognise companies’ efforts to foster an environment that empowers women while inculcating strong leadership qualities. EBM stands at the forefront of upholding a gender-diverse workplace, with one-third of its senior leadership positions occupied by women.

Dr Zeelaf Munir, Managing Director & CEO of EBM, expressed her views and said: “EBM has stood strong by its vision of gender diversity. We are proud to be an organisation where women hold key decision-making positions. With our continuous efforts, we hope to make EBM a torchbearer for gender diversity, motivating other organisations in the country to follow suit.”

Al Meezan wins best asset management company of the year

Al Meezan Investments wins the prestigious ‘Best Asset Management Company of the Year FY2022’ award at the CFA Society Pakistan’s 19th Annual Excellence Awards, according to a press release. The award was given in recognition of the company’s efforts to provide best in class Shariah Compliant innovative investment solutions to its investors. This award came in at a very exciting time for Al Meezan, when it just crossed the 250 billion assets under management (AUM) milestone to further cement its position as the leading AMC in Pakistan.

Al Meezan’s CEO, Mr Mohammad Shoaib, CFA, expressed his gratitude for the honourable recognition and stated, “while Al Meezan has grown by leaps and bounds in the past 27 years to become the largest asset manager in the country, our journey has just begun. We at Al Meezan are committed to taking the industry forward to unprecedented heights in the future and positively impacting the country’s economy.”

Bank Alfalah signs an MOU with Ignite

Intending to leapfrog the digital ecosystem in Pakistan, Bank Alfalah has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ignite, a public sector company, with the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, as per a press release. The partnership aims for the financial facilitation of startups and freelancers to be a one-stop solution catering to all banking needs.

The ceremony was held in Islamabad in the presence of the senior leadership from the public and private sectors, committing to boost the startups and freelancing ecosystem in Pakistan. With this partnership, Ignite and Bank Alfalah will work closely to develop products and services that will cater to the current financial needs of these startups and freelancers.

Promoting efficient irrigation systems

A Letter of Intent has been signed between the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and the Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP), Government of Sindh at Karachi for collaboration to promote High-Efficiency Irrigation Systems (HEIS) for efficient use of water and crop productivity, according to a press release.

The SIAPEP is providing financial assistance to eligible farmers at the rate of 60pc of the total cost of installation of HEIS, whereas the remaining 40pc is to be contributed by the farmer. Farmers, at times, need help in mobilising their due share upfront. In this regard, NBP and SIAPEP have agreed to provide financing facilities to eligible and needy farmers to install HEIS.

NBP and SIAPEP will also focus on capacity building of farmers through adopting agriculture best practices for increasing water use efficiency and crop productivity.

UBL and SEDF to provide subsided credit

United Bank Limited (UBL) and Sindh Enterprise Development Fund (SEDF) recently signed an Agreement for Institutional Collaboration to provide subsidised credit to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Sindh, according to a press release.

UBL will provide much-needed project financing to SMEs, and the agricultural sector and SEDF will provide a mark-up subsidy on loans provided by the bank. This collaboration will create a win-win situation for the stakeholders and create an enabling environment to promote investments in the province.

Syed Qassim Naveed Qamar, SACM said that “this is a step towards financial inclusion of a neglected yet vital segment of the economy with a focus towards modernisation of the rural economy of Sindh, with a hope that it will pave the way for balanced growth and financial inclusion of women entrepreneurs.”

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, December 12th, 2022