1.  Background/Context

Micro and small enterprises are the economic backbone of the Pakistani economy. There are almost 3.3 million SMEs in Pakistan, representing 30% of Pakistan’s GDP. They increase employment and reinvest in local communities. However, entrepreneurs—especially women—remain unserved or underserved by financial and non-financial service providers. Now is the time to act. Just 21% of the Pakistani population has access to formal banking services, while only 7% of women have a financial services account. Women are 38% less likely than men to own a cell/phone and 49% less likely to use mobile internet. % of women are engaged in entrepreneurial activities as opposed to 21% of men. Women entrepreneurs lack access to finance, are viewed as “riskier” clientele by banks, and require a male guarantor when taking out loans.

To unlock the power of entrepreneurs worldwide, CARE and the MasterCard Centre for Inclusive Growth (the Centre) launched Ignite in 2020 with funding from the MasterCard Impact Fund. This global partnership dramatically accelerated the growth of enterprises while advancing financial security and promoting inclusive growth. Through the Ignite program, CARE has supported 45000 entrepreneurs to secure loan from FSPs and capacitated 3200 entrepreneurs in Karachi, Hyderabad, Multan, Faisalabad, Lahore, Gujranwala and Rawalpindi. With a proven model that delivers meaningful financial inclusion for Women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (W-MSEs), which aligns with Financial Services Provider (FSP) incentives and drives sustainable business outcomes, CARE and the Centre are well positioned to deepen and scale impact through Strive Women.  Strive Women will directly improve the financial health of W-MSEs by increasing business growth and financial resilience while also catalysing replication of the model through strategic engagement and influence.

1. Project Objectives

The program has four core elements/outcomes:

(1)    Supporting W-MSEs growth: Facilitating the growth of Women-led Micro and Small Enterprises (W-MSEs) by offering a comprehensive suite of tailored financial services, along with capacity building in financial and digital literacy, fostering peer networks, facilitating market access, and implementing targeted initiatives to create an enabling business environment.   

(2)    Equipping FSPs to better serve W-MSEs: Empowering Financial Service Providers (FSPs) to better cater to the needs of W-MSEs through collaborative development of specialized products and services, coupled with innovative advisory solutions aimed at optimizing FSP portfolio strategies to effectively tap into the W-MSE market segments.

(3)    Innovating to address cross-cutting constraints : Spearheading innovation efforts to tackle overarching challenges such as limited access to childcare, environmental instability, and the impact of climate change, as well as addressing formal and informal barriers that impede the autonomy of women leading MSEs. Ecosystem building and thought leadership Engaging in ecosystem development and thought leadership initiatives to shape global and localized practices, offering a range of resources designed to support FSPs, W-MSEs, and other stakeholders in replicating successful models. Leveraging media channels, strategic marketing, and key stakeholder engagements to enhance the visibility of Strive Women's performance and evidence-based impact.

Through Strive Women, CARE and the Centre will directly enhance the financial health of W-MSEs in Pakistan. The program will build on momentum from the Ignite program by expanding service delivery and outreach to additional clients, engaging industry-level bodies as leverage points in local MSE ecosystems and crowding in additional funding to support W-MSEs. Going beyond traditional financial institutions, Strive Women will also engage a range of partners including FSPs, MNOs and digital marketplaces to deepen and broaden W-MSE alliances and the ecosystem.

Strive Women will implement a catalytic model to address the core needs of W-MSEs by:

1. Providing technical assistance and building FSP capacity to design products and services for women entrepreneurs.
2. Equipping women entrepreneurs with access to credit, digital and financial skills and critical support services to help women grow their businesses.
3. Launching large-scale behaviour change campaigns to ensure there was demand and engagement from women entrepreneurs for critical capital and services in the market; and
4. Strengthening the ecosystem for women-led small businesses, especially among FSP and government stakeholders.

Detailed TORs attached