The 9th annual assembly of Pakistan Microfinance Forum was held on November 26, at the Ramada Hotel in Islamabad, hosting experts and operational chiefs who spoke with the stakeholders of the industry and discussed the sector's future strategy.

The central theme of this year's forum was "Time to move forward from Regulations to Actions". The purpose was to generate innovative ideas which can help in bringing necessary changes in the economic situation of Pakistan and empower the human capital.

The annual conference aims at identifying solutions to the challenges faced by Microfinance industry and it’s stakeholders with regard to growth and expansion. Experts also evaluate the social performance and impact of this essential sector, through research tools and the necessary realignments in the policy structure.

Speaking at the occasion, Ghalib Nishtar, President Khushhali Microfinance Bank said, “ World over, half to two-third of all businesses are MSME’s in many regions this proportion is much higher. MSME’s are capable of creating jobs with least amount of capital and in dispersed locations which makes MSME’s attractive to policy makers”. “The opportunity for banks to serve MSME’s in emerging markets is large. MSME’s in Pakistan account for 98% of all economic establishments”, he said. “I strongly believe that this segment of the market holds great promise for the entrepreneurs, Institutions and the country. According to estimates, there are 3.8 million MSME’s in Pakistan”. About his bank’s plans towards contributing in this segment, he said, “We at Khushhali Microfinance Bank are poised to transform the institution from microfinance to MSME banking. We have developed necessary framework, policies and procedures and encouraged by the results of a pilot are scaling up our operations to about 50  branches  across the country reaching out to 10,000 small businesses with USD 30 million over the next 12 months”.

The participants got insights into the sector's potential impact, as it reaches out to the deprived and unbanked communities, in the rural and remote regions. This year's conference was sponsored by leading Microfinance enterprises including; Khushhali Microfinance Bank, Tameer Microfinance Bank, Meezan Bank and Waseela Microfinance Bank.