KARACHI, May 27: Speakers at a function on Monday said that the First Women Bank Limited (FWBL) was trying hard to provide financial assistance to women entrepreneurs so that they could supplement their family income.

Speaking at a function organized to formally inaugurate the First Women Franchise Post Office in North Nazimabad, they said that the Pakistan Post Office (PPO) had offered to provide free training to the women entrepreneurs who intended to set up the franchise post offices.

They said that the FWBL was established on a development basis to provide financial assistance on easy terms to women, particularly those belonging to the low-income group by helping them acquire education, knowledge, skills and the capital required to establish and successfully run the postal business and improve their standard of living.

They said that growing unemployment as well as underemployment were giving rise to poverty and burdening the masses. Women being more vulnerable were the worst sufferers as they not only worked in their homes, but a majority of them also worked in the informal sector to make up the shortfall in their family income, they added.

The speakers said that the FWBL and the PPO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on April 15, 2001, to financially assist as well as provide training to the women so that they could start franchise post offices and improve their earnings.

Under the MoU, women can apply to seek licence from the PPO to establish post offices and offer services such as mail collection ranging from ordinary to air to urgent; stamp/ticket purchase, etc.

Moreover, if interested, the licence holders may also start a courier service. Credit line for the same would be provided by the FWBL. It may also be authorized to collect remittances through postal saving services and to promote saving habits among the locals.

They said that the bank tailored its products keeping in view the needs of women entrepreneurs. They said that the bank was also doing a project with the International Labour Organization to counter the growing menace of child labour.

The speakers also said that with better recovery and management, the profitability of the bank has improved.

At present three women franchise post office are operating in Bhittai Colony (Korangi), North Karachi and North Nazimabad, besides one in Rawalpindi.

Bank chief Zarin Aziz, Shafqat Sultana, the woman entrepreneur who has established the franchise post office, Durre Shahwar Rizvi and others spoke at the inauguration conducted by Shaheen Zamir. Later, Zarin Aziz inaugurated the post office.