After starting my career as a Credit Analyst in one of the largest banks of Pakistan and targeting mainly commercial loans (SME), I experienced both bears and bulls in the market and regulatory requirements from very relaxed to very strict. I could love my job if had I seen any value we were contributing towards the society! Financing our clients on as liquid security as possible (meaning financing them against their own money) and charging them heavy sum of interest could only pull the water towards the deeper side was just our case as we were grabbing whatever we could from our clients. And that's what we called "We are doing business with you" and there I learnt the wrong interpretation of business - Give us and only us policy. In the end, while reporting the nasty cases to loan recovery department, more than 95% of irrecoverable loans were coming from our corporate clients and peanuts from the small enterprises while these small and medium size enterprises are the largest contributor to the economy.
I read and listen a lot bad about Pakistan and which is sometimes also reflected in my writings. This is failure of our society in particular and the world in general to conceive and recongnize the highest value projects from our country. Until recently we were unaware of a giant leap towards the betterment of our micro businesses. Today I read a news about Harvard University inviting Dr. Amjad Saqib today to address students at Harvard for his Microfinancing (Qarz-e-Hasana) Programme. When I read this news, I immediately opened wikipedia to see his name in the prominent contributors towards microfinancing and to my surprise, I couldn't get anything about him or Pakistan while the page says a lot about Grameen Bank's Muhammad Yunus and of course, the western legends. I therefore thought to put a brief account on his project and how he gained such a fame to be invited at Cambridge, Harvard and several other well-reputed institutes and awarded Presidential Award of Pakistan "Sitar-e-Imtiaz" in 2010.
Ironically, everybody in Pakistan defends the constitution of Pakistan 1973 but its implementation even after 3 decades has never been seriously done or thought. For example, Article 38(f) requires the state to "Eliminate Riba (Interest) as early as possible" and the article 31(2)c requires to secure the proper organization of zakah and ushr (charity obligated on richer to be given to the needy)" so that a truly Islamic State could be established in Pakistan. While our whole banking systems is corrupted with and plunged into all forms of interest and nobody really bothers even to start the elimination of Riba. I don't know what they mean by "As Soon as Possible" may be I misinterpret its meaning.
In this context and to target the funds to reach masses who actually deserve them, a well-educated development professional initiated a project in 2003. His name is Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib. Despite being a graduate from King Edward Medical College Lahore, Pakistan, a Graduate in Public Administration, Hurbert Humphrey Fellowship from American University, DC, and Civil Services DMG, he became prominent by founding Akhuwat Foundation, first ever Interest Free Microfinancing. In order to reach the target audience, the foundation operates from churches and mosques to targeted to poverty alleviation, micro-finance, social mobilization and education management.
The distinguishing features marked by this foundation are as follows:
1) Giving Interest free loans upto PKR 10,000 and this loan amount is repayable in 10-12 installments
2) Financed and benefited 130,000 families with total amount of PKR 2 Billion
3) No security or loan guarantee required for financing
4) Recorded highest rate of loan recovery in the whole world marking the rate 99,85%
5) Largest foundation of interest-free loan in the whole world
6) The other preeminent microfinancing foundation like Grameen Bank requires up to 40% of interest while Akhuwat is based on zero interest rate.
7) Transforming borrowers into Donors whereby those who are able to successfully start their business/ project have the opportunity to donate to spread the virtues.
7) Transforming borrowers into Donors whereby those who are able to successfully start their business/ project have the opportunity to donate to spread the virtues.
8) The highest loan recovery rate also establishes the fact that our nation is not a bunch of dishonest and corrupt people - when trust is invested in us, we can mark records for integrity and probity
The link to the official website of Akhuwat is: http://www.akhuwat.org.pk
The link to the official website of Akhuwat is: http://www.akhuwat.org.pk
Today on Pakistan day, March 23, 2012, Dr. Saqib will be addressing the Harvard students the merits of interest-free loans given to the deserving people but I wonder if such people can also earn any "Material" acknowledgement from western society like our Shermeen Obaid Chinoy from Karachi, Pakistan who received that recognition by getting an Oscar for her movie "Saving Face". She has been making documentaries on the negative faces of our society sometimes a bit exaggerated and in return receives a lot of applause from the world. I hope that they will treat Dr. Saqib equally though he is presenting the other side of the coin showing we Pakistanis to be honest, loyal, honorable, intellectual and intelligent nation. Let us see if the world can remove the tag from us regarding our nation as Rabble (as shown by Ms. Chinoy) to a Nation (by Dr. Saqib) - Fingers Crossed :)
