The founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, Roshaneh Zafar signed a contract, acquiring USD 5 million from FMO N.V, Dutch Development Bank, with Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands, her excellency Ardi Stoios-Braken and Mr. Marnix Monsfort, Head of Financial Institutions Asia, FMO.
The FMO Signing Ceremony was held at Movenpick Hotel, Karachi and the contract will enable Kashf to further promote entrepreneurial engagement with low income households, especially women.
“This is a contract that is very much in line with the objectives of the embassy because we focus on social progress including women’s rights, peace, security and stability, human rights, sustainable trade and investment,” said Ardi Stoios-Braken, her excellency, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands.
It is a big milestone for both organizations to collaborate on investing in the capacity and livelihoods of women in Pakistan, improve their opportunities, enhance economic development and contribute to stability in the region.
“This contract is an important step forward towards achieving our goal of alleviating poverty and create a gender equitable society,” said Roshaneh Zafar. “With underemployment on the rise, it is imperative to open economic opportunities that help micro-entrepreneurs sustain their businesses and allow families to invest in better nourishment and education for their children.”
FMO N.V, Dutch Development Bank has invested in over 85 countries and their mandate is to provide long term capital for projects in developing countries that would have a positive environmental and social impact- not just a return on investment.
“Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs, support job creation, income generation and sustainability. We want to improve lives in those parts of the world where this makes a big difference and we are proud to promote women led micro-enterprises through this initiative,” said Mr. Marnix Monsfort, Head of Financial Institutions Asia, FMO.
The event was also attended by other notable guests including Ms. Winnie van der Wal (First Secretary Economic Affairs, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands,) Mr. Shahzad Iqbal (Chief Financial Officer, Kashf Foundation), Ms. Maheen Mirza (Assistant Manager Grant Raising and Donor Management, Kashf Foundation), Mr. Hammad Raza (Economic Department, Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands), Mr. Dave Smit (Senior Investment Officer Financial Institutions Asia, FMO), and Mr. Evangelos Alamaniotis (Investment Officer Financial Institutions, FMO).
Source: https://kashf.org/news-events/
