PMN - Key Persons
Ali Basharat is working as Head of Operations at PMN. He oversees the publication of the state of the industry report Pakistan Microfinance Review (PMR) and importantly, he is tasked with promoting investment in the sector by establishing linkages with both local and international investors. In this regard, he interacts closely with the commercial banks, DFIs, Microfinance investments Vehicles (MIVs) and other financial institutes (FIs)
He leads the team responsible for the data collection & dissemination and publishing of quarterly MicroWATCH. Also, he conducts research on emerging issues being faced by the industry. In addition, he advises on placement of surplus funds of PMN.
Ali has attended training on treasury management and risk management in the microfinance industry. He is previously worked in academia and in a leading commercial bank specializing in SME financing. He is a graduate of London School of Economics and currently a CFA Level lll candidate.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Executive Director
- Founder
- Founder of Akhuwat
Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib is a social entrepreneur, volunteer and development professional. He joined civil service of Pakistan (DMG) in 1985. He obtained Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship, in public administration from the American University, Washington D.C., USA. He resigned from civil service in 2003. Since then, besides rendering philanthropic and social services, he has been providing consultancy services to International Organization. His areas of expertise include poverty alleviation, microfinance, social mobilization and education management. He is author of four books.
Dr. Saqib is founder of Akhuwat, first ever interest free microfinance programme. Keeping in view his volunteer services for poverty alleviation, he has been requested by the Government of the Punjab to lead two of its flagship programmes i.e. Punjab Educational Endowment Fund (PEEF) and Punjab Welfare Trust for the Disabled (PWTD). President of Pakistan bestowed on him "Sitara-a-Imtiaz", a coveted civil award on 23 March, 2010.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Chief Executive Officer of National Rural Support Programme
- Ex - Member of Civil Service of Pakistan
Dr. Rashid Bajwa is Chief Executive Officer of National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) since 1996. Under his leadership, NRSP transformed part of its portfolio into the NRSP Microfinance Bank Ltd.
Dr. Bajwa is also associated with other Provincial Rural Support Programs and is a member of the BOD of many RSPs. He is an advisor to the RSPN. He is also serving as an independent Director of Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited since August 26, 2010. He has professional experience of Microfinance and development specialist.
Dr. Bajwa is an Ex-Member of Civil Service of Pakistan (DMG) from 1986 to 1993 and has worked in different positions and levels of the Government. Dr. Bajwa has a degree in Medicine from KEMC (MBBS) and USA (MD) and a Master in Public Health from Nuffield School of Heath, University of Leeds, UK where he received a distinction and commendation by HM the Queen.
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager
- Manager Operations
Fahd Zaman Khan is the Operations Manager at the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN). Apart from training and research, he has additional responsibilities of managing Human Resource, Communications, and other administrative related matters.
His recent experience involves project and team management, sectoral policy development, fielding surveys, and research in education as well as technical and vocational skills development in the development sector. He also has experience of working in the telecommunications sector. He is a master's degree holder in Economics from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad.
Job Titles:
- President & CEO of Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited
Ghazanfar Azam is President & CEO of Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited since its inception from 2012. He has vast experience & exceptional achievements to his credit in retail, commercial, consumer, SME & micro banking segments including launch of two leading greenfield nation-wide microfinance banks in Pakistan i.e. Kashf MF Bank in 2008 (now FINCA) & MOBILINK BANK in 2012.
In a career spanning over 32 years, Ghazanfar worked for HBL, Union Bank, Prime Bank & Bank Alfalah in retail, commercial, consumer & SME Banking segments. In addition, he spent several years as head of training & development at Prime Bank & Bank Alfalah.
In recognition of his contributions to HR development & training in banking industry, he was awarded prestigious Hubert Humphrey Fellowship by the United States Government for the year 2000-01 under Fulbright program. Ghazanfar has also worked with Shore Bank International (Now Enclude), a leading international consulting company in SME and microfinance based out of Washington DC and operating globally, as a senior consultant and Head of a USAID funded SME downscaling project in 2005-7. He has extensive global exposure and have been to Indonesia, Cambodia, Turkey, Romania, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco, Oman, Bolivia, United States and United Kingdom on work-related trips and assignments.
Job Titles:
- New President & CEO of Khushhali Microfinance Bank
- President & CEO / Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited
Aameer Karachiwalla has taken charge as the new President & CEO of Khushhali Microfinance Bank. With over 30 years of experience, Mr. Karachiwalla is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan and a long-serving Director and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Khushhali Microfinance Bank Limited. Before joining KMBL, Mr. Karachiwalla was the Chief Financial Officer of UBL having served there for over 23 years in various other capacity, including Chief Operating Officer, Chief of Staff and Group Executive Retail Banking. He is also the Chairman of the Board of UBL Insurers Ltd and Director at 1Link. News Desk
Job Titles:
- Banker
- President & CEO / HBL Microfinance Bank
Amir Masood Khan is a seasoned banker having diversified experience of over 22 years in consumer and commercial banking. He joined The First MicroFinanceBank Ltd Pakistan in March 2012 as the Chief Executive Officer/President. Prior to this assignment, he has worked at senior level positions with the Standard Chartered Bank, ABN Amro Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland; and as the CEO of Mobilink Microfinance Bank (then Waseela), where he was instrumental to set up the Bank. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
Mr. Faisal Ejaz Khan brings with him rich experience of Financial Services Industry. He has held responsibilities in Private Banking, Corporate Banking and Banking Operations during his past roles in Emirates Bank International PJSC, SME Bank Limited and MCB Bank Limited in various capacities.
He has an MBA with a specialization in ‘Change Management and Technology' and also holds an M. Phil. in ‘Management and Information Technology' from France.
Faisal was with Oracle Corporation based in Karachi as Regional Business Manager, Financial Services Industry for seven countries in South Asia. In Oracle he was responsible for solution sales of Oracle technology and applications for Corporate Performance Management, Risk Management/ BASEL II and Customer Relationship Management.
He has had a focus on deployment of Sungard's Core Banking Application in MCB Bank Ltd. He achieved a milestone of 1100 plus branches on the new system across Pakistan and completed the roll out of Sungard's Application in MCB Sri Lanka Operations and Sungard's Islamic Core Banking System in MCB Islamic Banking Branches in Pakistan.
He is a highly seasoned business leader with a strong track record of strategic thinking, hands-on execution and building strong teams who collaborate to improve the customer experience.
Mr. Khokhar is the President/CEO with having more than 20 years of multidimensional experience in development sector. Mr. Khokhar is expert and microfinance practitioner, he has invested his expertise in developing strategies and techniques to help manage risk for institutional investors. As a founder he has developed groundbreaking research and investment process and built a team based approach focused on controlling risk, preserving capital and building wealth for clients over the long term.
Mr.Khan has over 24 years of global experience in financial services and is a recognized leader with history, experience and track record of success in large global organizations. His vast experience with one of the largest financial services institutions (JPMorgan Chase & Co.), blue chip Management Consulting firm (Deloitte Consulting), and Telenor Microfinance Bank (Easypaisa) have enabled him to be successful at leading financial services and fintech institutions to success. As Executive Director at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in United States, Mr. Khan held multiple roles and is experienced in evaluating and applying emerging solutions to transform businesses. More recently, as Chief Product Officer followed by Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Telenor Microfinance Bank, Mr. Khan developed a strategy, led a wide array of award winning financial and digital product suite, and executed a roadmap of enhanced financial inclusion.
Mr. Khan holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Masters in Business Administration from University of Delaware, Program for Working Professionals at Wharton Business School, followed by Executive leadership programs at Wharton and Harvard Business School, USA.
Mr. Kabeer Naqvi represents a small percentage of professionals who has risen to the very top of Microfinance Banking industry in Pakistan at a remarkable pace. He has nearly 18 years of work experience to his name and has been with U Bank since Sep 2015.
Mr. Naqvi has extensive work experience in External Audit, Corporate Finance, Internal Audit and Taxation and has served at Ernst & Young Saudi Arabia, TPL Pakistan, House of Habib and Tameer Microfinance Bank. He served as the Chief of Staff & Chief Financial Officer at Tameer Microfinance Bank where his glorious career spanned over 9 years. Mr. Naqvi is a trained accountant and a distinguished member of ACCA - the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Job Titles:
- President & CEO / Telenor
Job Titles:
- Managing Director / CEO of Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company Mr
- Managing Director / Chief Executive Officer / Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company
Mr. Mudassir H. Khan is the Managing Director/CEO of Pakistan Mortgage Refinance Company Mr. Khan holds an Executive Masters in Business Administration (update) from Stern School of Business, New York, USA and a Masters in Finance from St. John's University, New York, USA. He is also an Electrical Engineer from University of Oklahoma, USA. With over 29 years of diversified banking experience primarily covering Retail, Corporate & Investment Banking, Operations, Risk and Development Banking. Before joining PMRC, Mr. Khan worked with National Bank of Pakistan for four years as SEVP/Group Chief Retail & Commercial Banking and as Group Chief Payments & Digital Banking. Prior to that, he was with HBL for nine years, holding different portfolios as SEVP Group Head Global Operations, CIO, CCO and Head of Basel and Operational Risk. He also worked with the World Bank for more than fourteen years in the area of Financial Sector, South Asia Region, based in Pakistan and also worked in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives; as well as in the Africa Region in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya and Sierra Leone. Before joining the World Bank, he worked in the field of Corporate and Investment Banking with Citibank, N.A and Bear Stearns in Pakistan and in USA.
Mr. Khan had been a speaker at many conferences locally and internationally related to housing finance, banking & digital transformation, banking operations and reforms and risk management. He had also served in many Boards as Director and was the Chairman of NBP Fullerton Asset Management (NAFA) and of First Women Bank Limited (FWBL). He is currently MD/CEO PMRC and member of the Board of Pakistan Microfinance Network as Independent, Non-Executive Director.
As founder of RCDS and RCDP, Muhammad Murtaza belongs to the hallmark fraternity of eminent people who's wisdom and contribution have firmly helped in shaping, building and strengthening the microfinance industry in span of past two decades. Being an highly active and diversified practitioner, his spectrum of expertise belong to governance, strategic leadership, microenterprises development & businesses innovation. He represents on various boards such as PMN-Pakistan Microfinance Network, PMFN-Punjab Microfinance Network & PVTC- Punjab Vocational Training Council.
Murtaza is a law graduate from University of the Punjab and holds empirical experience of attending a huge array of conferences, seminars, exhibitions, roundtable discussions, trainings, bootcamps and exposure visits to metal and synergize collaborations and partnerships stints. His consultancy & advisory exercises remain ad-hoc to various sector & non-sector firms exhibiting a true dedication for growth under a level playing field for microfinance and it's allied stakeholders industry
Job Titles:
- Managing Director & Company Secretary / SAFCO Support Foundation
An enlightened professional, Mr. Syed Sajjad Ali, served different organizations on senior-level management & leadership positions. He has Masters in Financial Management and Public Administration disciplines and has attended different courses on Strategic Leadership and Inclusive Finance from Harvard Business School and Boulder Institute of Microfinance.
He started his career as a Management Trainee and within few years achieved many successes and is currently working in the capacity of Managing Director in a Non-Banking Finance Company- NBMFC. He has more than 18 years of professional experience to his credit with the background of financial services in the private sector. He keeps great ability & skills for business, negotiations & dealing investments with national & international DFIs. He successfully implemented various projects especially in the microfinance industry as specialist of financial inclusion, financial analysis, ratios analysis, risk management, poverty reduction, promoting access to finance, appraisals, implementation and financial literacy. He has also worked and implemented many projects funded by World Bank, IFAD, and Government of Pakistan in capacity of partner organization with the collaboration of PPAF Islamabad.
Job Titles:
- President & CEO / Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited
Mr. Muhammad Afzal has 30+ years of experience in the Public Sector, Telecom, NGO, Finance, and marketing industries. He has held several senior positions in global organizations, including Accenture Canada, Hutchinson Thailand, and ADC Telecom, and has worked with top Pakistani firms including Faysal Bank, MCB Bank, Warid telecom, and many more. Throughout his storied career, he has overseen major, million-dollar projects including mergers, acquistions and the development of strategy for FBR and Pakistan customs He currently serves as Head of Consulting at DWP Pakistan.
Qazi Shoaib Alam is the CEO of JWS Pakistan, a leading and progressive micro finance company. He is a well-known development professional and counted among the few who have played critical role in nurturing and expanding the microfinance industry in Pakistan. Struggle for women empowerment, inclusive financial services, capacity building of small-scale entrepreneurs and bringing change in economic landscape of targeted communities are few achievements to his credit. He has served at the PMN board in the past as well.
Qazi Shoaib's contributions extend beyond the realm of microfinance. He has actively collaborated with government agencies, NGOs, and other stakeholders to advocate for policies that promote financial inclusion and social empowerment. His expertise and insights have been sought after in various forums, where he has played a crucial role in shaping the discourse surrounding poverty alleviation and inclusive development in Pakistan.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- Fellow Chartered Accountant & Fellow Corporate Secretary
- Independent Member of the Audit Committee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
Khursheed Kotwal is a Fellow Chartered Accountant & Fellow Corporate Secretary with almost 30 years of experience. She has a unique & varied experience of multi-national & local corporates in Pakistan as a Business Leader.
After completing CA from PriceWaterHouseCoopers she joined the largest FMCG in Pakistan. She has worked in Unilever Pakistan Limited for 18 years and the last position held as Corporate Finance Director. Other key positions held were as Chief Auditor, Treasurer & Corporate Controller.
Khursheed serves as an Independent Member of the Audit Committee for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan. She is a Certified Director & a Trainer on Corporate Governance; training Board Members & Executives on Strategic Management. Khursheed serves on the Economic Affairs & Government Relations Committee & Digital Accounting & Auditing Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
In 2009 she started a Financial & Management Consultancy called Aasman International as Chief Executive Officer.
Khursheed works for several social & charitable causes & also serves as a Trustee of the community group. In addition she also provides voluntary consultancy to NGO's requiring professional assistance.
Job Titles:
- Deputy General Manager & Head of Channel Strategy & Execution / EFU Life Assurance Ltd.
Nilofer is an accomplished professional with 18 years of expertise in the financial sector. As Deputy General Manager & Head of Channel Strategy & Execution at EFU Life Assurance Ltd since 2013, she has consistently demonstrated her results-oriented approach and dedication to driving organizational success. Prior to working at EFU Life, Nilofer was working at Standard Chartered Bank in the Wealth Management domain.
Nilofer's strategic vision and deep industry knowledge have been instrumental in spearheading the development and implementation of financial inclusion strategies, particularly in the digital and inclusive insurance segment. Her contributions extend beyond strategy formulation, as she also heads the Product Management area and oversees Data Analytics to support various distribution channels. Her efforts have significantly contributed to the company's growth while ensuring that insurance services are accessible to a wider range of individuals, positively impacting the lives of many.
Beyond her achievements in the corporate sector and in addition to serving as an Independent Director at Pakistan Microfinance Network, Nilofer also serves on the board of Microinsurance Network (MIN) based in Luxembourg which brings together like-minded individuals and institutions committed to making a meaningful impact in inclusive insurance. Through her role, Nilofer showcases her unwavering dedication to driving positive change within the financial industry and fostering financial inclusion.
Additionally, Nilofer holds an MBA in Finance and an MA in Economics. She also holds a Fellowship of Life Management Institute (USA) recipient, further demonstrating her commitment to professional development. She has further enhanced her knowledge through multiple training courses on Strategy Execution, Mutual Funds, Fintech, and Financial Services.
Job Titles:
- Founder
- Founder & CEO of CIRCLE
Sadaffe Abid is the Founder & CEO of CIRCLE promoting women's economic empowerment through digital literacy, technology and entrepreneurship. CIRCLE is recognised as a Microsoft for Startup for using technology to solve pressing challenges. Sadaffe is an advocate for women's advancement, digital and financial inclusion. She is former COO & CEO of Kashf Foundation that she helped grow to 300,000 women clients disbursing $200 million in micro loans.
Sadaffe is Vice Chairperson Pakistan Microfinance Network and former board member National Bank of Pakistan where she chaired the Inclusive Development Committee. Her work is profiled in Nicholas Kristoff's book, Half the Sky. Sadaffe completed her Masters at the Harvard Kennedy School, Advanced Management Program at INSEAD and B.A. at Mount Holyoke College. She is a recipient of the Mount Holyoke Alumni Achievement Award.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Company Secretary
Muhammad Waqas Khan is the CFO & Company Secretary at the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN). Apart from the financial reporting, investment management and budgeting aspects, he also looks after the secretarial matters at the PMN.
He is the lead of Finance & Accounts team. Previously he has a four year experience in assurance and business advisory services from A.F.Ferguson & Co., a member firm of PricewaterHouseCoopers (PwC).
His additional responsibilities include but not limited to coordinating audit functions, liaising with external regulators and advisers in statutory and regulatory matters, administration of the company's pension scheme, insurance and cash and fixed assets management
Syed Mohsin Ahmed has been associated with the Pakistan Microfinance Network since its creation as a legal entity in 2001, initially as the Finance Manager of the entity he was promoted to the position of General Manager in 2006 and is now heading the management team as the Chief Executive Officer. He is involved in putting in place a strong management team along with internal control systems to ensure that PMN continues to perform as a cutting edge entity along with managing business risks for the institution.
As head of the representative body of microfinance providers he has been instrumental in engaging with both domestic and international organizations to influence policy and elucidate the narrative of microfinance and financial inclusion in Pakistan. Mohsin has been instrumental in advocating for development of industry infrastructure to manage risk; including establishment of a MF Credit Bureau, raising awareness around setting up of a Disaster Risk Management Fund, influencing government in creating a steering committee to regulate Non Bank MFIs and actively pursuing establishment of a client grievance redressal mechanism. Understanding the dynamic phase of the industry he is also involved in promoting sector level structures for growth and innovations; including influencing multilateral and bilateral donors for topping up PPAF and SBP guarantee facilities and engaging with the wider financial inclusion eco system to link microfinance with branchless banking, SME and insurance markets through the establishment of a Financial Inclusion lab at the PMN.
With his expertise in leading and effectively running networks, Mohsin has been involved in the setting up of South Asia Microfinance Network (SAMN) with representation from six South Asian countries including India and Bangladesh. He is currently the chairman of SAMN and also sits on global forums like the Advisory Board on Networks set up by the SEEP Network and Vision 2020 task force on credit reporting set up by Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion. He holds a Professional degree as a Cost and Management Accountant and has received trainings on microfinance and leadership from the Boulder MF Training Program and HBS-Accion leadership program
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Coach
- Founder
- Ex - President and CEO of Tameer Micro Finance Bank
However, his vision does not end there. Mr. Nadeem continues to promote the causes of financial inclusion by unbundling conventional banking and digitizing all 6 verticals to financially include the 80% of the unbanked population.
Mr. Hussain champions the causes of financial empowerment, access to healthcare, environmental sustainability, affordable housing and provision of alternate energy to all Pakistanis. He has spent the last 10 years focusing on these areas through his leadership of Tameer Micro Finance Bank and has unparalleled and invaluable experience to contribute to establishing a one of its kind financial solution to the financially excluded.
Nadeem Hussain is best known as the ex-President and CEO of Tameer Micro Finance Bank, Pakistan's first private sector microfinance bank and world leader in branchless banking. Mr. Hussain's model bank has impacted over a million people by extending credit and mobile banking to the poor and the unbanked Pakistan, and has introduced the first health insurance program in rural areas to protect poor households from falling below the poverty line. Mr. Hussain later forged a partnership with an international telecom to provide mobile banking solutions to a large segment of the unbanked Pakistani population called EasyPaisa. This initiative has become Pakistan's largest mobile transaction channel and has been recognized by the World Bank as one of the top three branchless banking solutions in the world.
Prior to pursuing his passion of making a difference, he worked in international banking for over almost 3 decades with Citigroup in seven different countries and major financial centers of the world. Mr. Hussain's illustrious banking career included working in corporate banking, consumer banking, risk management, insurance, transaction banking and treasury. He served as General Manager and Head of Consumer Banking for Citibank, Pakistan. Under his guidance, Citibank Pakistan pioneered the concept of consumer banking, with the introduction of credit cards, auto mobile financing and residential mortgage financing. Nadeem effectively turned the bank around after it went into loss due to the freezing of foreign currency accounts in 1998.
Apart from his professional endeavors, Mr. Hussain has also served on the advisory board of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and Institute of Capital Markets (ICM). He is the Chairperson of the Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), Mentor & Advisor to Hult Prize Pakistan, TECH Pakistan, and also on the Board of PlanX. Mr. Nadeem fulfills his Trustee responsibilities for the Indus Foundation and the Jinnah Institute and is an active member of the State Bank's and SECP consultative groups on various initiatives including Microfinance and insurance. He is also leading the effort to implement Universal Standards of Social Performance Management (USSPM) across all PMN member banks and institutes
Nadeem Hussain is globally recognized for his dedication and service to financial inclusion. He chaired the United Nation's MDG Session on Financial Inclusion in New York in September 2010, and is a frequent speaker at international forums on branchless banking and Microfinance. He was invited to speak at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and Johns Hopkins University in 2012 where Tameer Bank was showcased as Asia's solution to financial empowerment. He has also been awarded the prestigious Global leader award in 2011 by C5 in Geneva.