ISLAMABAD - The Bank of Punjab (BOP) and Karandaaz Pakistan have joined forces in a strategic alliance aimed at revolutionising Pakistan’s agriculture sector under Karandaaz’s inaugural Digital Financing for Agriculture (DFA) Challenge 2023. The landmark agreement, inked on April 1, 2024, signals the commencement of pioneering initiative geared towards enhancing digital agriculture loans and fostering financial inclusion nationwide.
The agreement signing, held at the Marriott Hotel Islamabad, was performed by Zafar Masud, President &CEO of The Bank of Punjab, and Waqas ul Hassan, CEO of Karandaaz Pakistan. Other notable attendees included, Sharjeel Murtaza, Director DFS Karandaaz, Asif Riaz, Group Head Consumer Banking, Nadeem Khanzada, Senior Joint Director of SBP, and Qasim Javed, representing Techlogix alongside other senior management of BOP, Karandaaz, agri, and fintech sector.
Zafar Masud, President &CEO of The Bank of Punjab, opined that the collaboration aims to overcome farmers’ financial hurdles. It not only aims to improve productivity but also addresses the challenge of loan securitization by offering collateral-free financing. By easing out the loan process and leveraging innovative solutions, such as real-time loan disbursement based on predictive AI assessments, the initiative is poised to empower farming community across the country, foster resilience and bring prosperity to the marginalized agriculturists. Masud extended gratitude to Karandaaz Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan, Techlogix and all other stakeholders for their unwavering support.
Waqas ul Hassan, CEO of Karandaaz Pakistan, expressed his enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “Banks are one of the most suited partners to address farmers’ access-to-credit challenges. The collaboration between Karandaaz Pakistan and Bank of Punjab represents a significant opportunity for demonstrating increase in the productivity of the agricultural value chains through digital inclusion of small farmers.”
Masud highlighted how Karandaaz’s Digital Agriculture Finance Challenge 2023 spurred innovation. Utilizing technology, bank will provide digitally processed crops/livestock /dairy loans aggregating Rs 5 billion approximately. The aim is to enhance financial inclusion, access to credit, help increase yield, reduce poverty and create employment. This initiative, supported by Rs 50 million grant, shall promote sustainability, innovation and productivity through advisory services and digitalization. Partnering with Techlogix for their Digital Platform and Country’s top AgriTechs for Agronomy scores and advisory, BOP and Karandaazare poised to revolutionize agricultural financing, benefiting farming communities across Pakistan.
The Director of Digital Financial Services (DFS) at Karandaaz apprised, “Through this partnership with Bank of Punjab, Karandaaz aims to establish a comprehensive digital lending platform, featuring a dynamic credit scorecard complimented by instant approval, and disbursement mechanisms for timely access to finance. This platform will act as the rails for delivering a range of financial products currently out of reach for smallholder farmers across the country.”