Abdul Ghani

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has kicked off the implementation of the Women Entrepreneurship Finance (WE-Finance) Code, a national initiative designed to dismantle financial barriers faced by women-led businesses and strengthen their access to formal credit. Adopted by the SBP on July 7, 2025, the WE-Finance Code provides an action-oriented framework to promote women’s financial inclusion by encouraging banks to develop gender-responsive products, improve data collection and reporting, and strengthen credit appraisal mechanisms tailored to women-owned and women-led enterprises.

The SBP is the lead implementing agency for the Code in Pakistan. As part of the rollout, the SBP has mobilised a coalition of 23 financial institutions, including conventional, Islamic and microfinance banks, along with the Pakistan Banks Association, to implement the Code across the banking sector under a common charter. To formally begin implementation, the SBP, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), organised a two-day WE-Finance Code Consultative Workshop in Islamabad.

The workshop brought together signatory banks, regulators and development partners to develop a concrete national action plan. Discussions focused on gender-intelligent product innovation, strengthening lending portfolios for women-led micro, small and medium enterprises, improving sex-disaggregated data and reporting frameworks, and reinforcing institutional commitments under the WE-Finance Code Charter.

Ahead of the workshop, a joint SBP-ADB delegation also conducted a roadshow to engage key ecosystem stakeholders beyond the financial sector. Strategic dialogues were held with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to strengthen policy coordination, enhance inter-agency collaboration and broaden national-level support for the WE-Finance Code.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the consultative workshop, SBP Deputy Governor Saleem Ullah said the central bank is building pathways to ensure women entrepreneurs can fully participate in and contribute to Pakistan’s economic growth. He reaffirmed the SBP’s commitment to promoting women’s entrepreneurship and access to finance as part of its Strategic Plan 2023–2028, aimed at building an inclusive and sustainable financial system.

He highlighted the SBP’s ongoing efforts to advance women’s financial inclusion through initiatives such as the Banking on Equality Policy and digital financial services. However, he noted that despite improvements in access to financial services, structural constraints continue to limit women entrepreneurs’ ability to secure formal financing.

In this context, he described the WE-Finance Code as a critical and practical tool to address long-standing gaps in women’s access to credit. The SBP said the coordinated implementation of the WE-Finance Code is expected to translate into increased access to finance, stronger entrepreneurship and sustainable economic progress for women across Pakistan.

Credit: INP-WealthPk