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August 24, 2026IFC’s $10m loan to ASA Microfinance Bank will expand credit for women entrepreneurs, addressing Pakistan’s $57.8bn MSME finance gap.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has announced a $10 million, four year loan to ASA Microfinance Bank (Pakistan) Limited to expand financing for women entrepreneurs and microbusinesses. The facility will boost ASA MFB’s lending capacity nationwide, providing liquidity stability as the bank scales operations to serve more female borrowers.
“This partnership is about recognizing and supporting women who are already running businesses,” said Naazer Minhaj, President and CEO of ASA Microfinance Bank (Pakistan) Limited. “It will enable us to extend financing to more women across Pakistan, helping them strengthen their businesses and build on what they have already achieved,” Minhaj added. The investment targets a stark financing gap in Pakistan, where only 27 percent of adults have a bank account and the MSME finance shortfall stands at about $57.8 billion.
Around 39 percent of micro, small and medium enterprises are credit constrained, with women facing a 30.4 percentage point lower access to formal accounts than men. Pakistan also ranks last among 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, with female labour force participation at just 22.6 percent. Momina Aijazuddin, Regional Industry Director for Financial Institutions at IFC, said millions of women run businesses yet remain largely shut out of the formal financial system.
“We believe this investment will not only help many households but also demonstrate to the broader market that lending to women is not just the right thing to do, it is good business,” Aijazuddin said. The deal is backed by the International Development Association Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility and processed under IFC’s MSME Finance Platform for emerging markets. Beyond capital, IFC will provide advisory services to improve ASA MFB’s gender disaggregated data reporting, helping the bank better understand and serve female clients over time.
The move comes as Pakistan seeks to deepen financial inclusion, expand credit to underserved segments and unlock growth from women-led micro and small enterprises. ASA MFB will deploy the funds to strengthen its portfolio, expand outreach and support women entrepreneurs who currently rely on informal or high cost financing sources. Analysts say targeted lending to women can multiply household incomes, improve repayment performance and catalyse broader private sector growth in underserved regions.
