ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s leading digital microfinance institution, Mobilink Bank, has reaffirmed its commitment to fostering gender-responsive climate finance at the Conference of the Parties (COP28) organized in Dubai, UAE. Representing the bank, Chief Operating Officer (COO) Haaris Mahmood Chaudhary addressed an engaging panel on the significance of gender-intentional green financing for combating climate change.
Mobilink Bank is part of the VEON group, an international digital operator that provides converged connectivity and online services across seven countries. As part of its digital operator strategy, VEON is transforming lives by bringing opportunities for increased digital inclusion and driving economic development across nations home to more than 8 percent of the world’s population.
Mobilink Bank’s policies align with VEON’s strategy, underpinned by a steadfast commitment to diversity, sustainability, and inclusion, while fostering greater digital skills, literacy, digital entrepreneurship, and new job opportunities in its communities.
The event reinforced Mobilink Bank’s standing as an environmentally responsible and conscious business entity, besides firmly establishing Pakistan on the map of emergent international discourses on climate finance. The bank is among the first movers of climate finance in Pakistan and has invested over Rs1.6 billion in green financing, primarily focusing on loans for solar applications in agriculture to promote renewable energy.
During the panel discussion, Haaris Chaudhary highlighted Mobilink Bank’s role in fostering gender inclusivity in climate finance, primarily within the agricultural field, by providing women with knowledge, resources, and decision-making authority under its flagship Women Inspirational Network program. The bank has extended financial savings and insurance products to over 140,000 women in the microfinance field, assisting them in preparing for and navigating the challenges associated with climate change and economic uncertainty.
Mobilink Bank Allocates Subsidized Financing
He further said that Mobilink Bank allocated subsidized financing exceeding Rs12 billion to more than 66,000 female customers and continues to provide financial, digital, and Agritech solutions to farmers, enhancing sustainable agricultural practices.
Sharing his thoughts regarding the session, Haaris Chaudhary said, “Representing Pakistan at the COP28 was a unique privilege. As a responsible organization, we aim to drive sustainability through a firm commitment to green financing and deploying a gender-intentional lens for fostering financial inclusion and resilience for all.
Recognizing Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate change, Mobilink Bank remains at the forefront of empowering everyone in the true sense. Women- a highly influential yet underserved segment, are more susceptible to the drastic effects of climate change, and we aim at narrowing the gender gap to provide inclusive opportunities for them for holistic economic development.”
Haaris affirmed the bank’s commitment to expanding its green financing loan further in the coming years to accelerate the efforts for combating climate change.
