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    Roshaneh Zafar: Empowering Women and Enabling Dreams

    Written by: Sadeem Shaikh
    Posted on: December 10, 2014 |

    Roshaneh Zafar was one of the speakers on TEDx Karachi in June 2010

    Roshaneh Zafar is the pioneer of the microfinance organisation in Pakistan and is the living embodiment of an entrepreneurial prodigy. The Kashf Foundation, established in 1996, was the result of a hard-fought and arduous journey taken by Zafar, which effectively helped reshape her aspirations to empower low-income women in Pakistan, and is now the fastest growing MFI in the country. She abandoned her dream of becoming an investment banker and decided to become a development economist instead, graduating from Yale University with a Master’s Degree in International Development. What essentially drove her towards the development sector was her sympathy for the underprivileged women of Pakistan who, in her own words, are “subservient in the face of a largely patriarchal society, having no access to either markets or credit”. With the unparalleled fervor and dedication to set up an organization from scratch in an industry that had been virtually non-existent in the country, Roshaneh Zafar became an entrepreneur, celebrated in Pakistan and internationally.

    Roshaneh Zafar - Kashf Foundation

    Roshaneh Zafar received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship in 2007

    The word ‘Kashf’ is derived from a Sufi religious concept, literally meaning a miracle or revelation. Ironically enough, the idea of a microfinance institution came to Roshaneh Zafar during her time at the World Bank. This idea, however, would take its time, from the initial stages of being just a “blurry” and “feel-good” concept into a full-fledged executable plan.

    During a fieldwork trip to Tharparkar in Sindh, Zafar realized the severity of the economic hardship faced by common women, who would waste a great deal of time simply securing a day’s supply of water, when they could be using this time for generating income for their families. Some of Zafar’s conversations with these women highlighted the similarities of their demand to be autonomous, productive and self-sufficient. This reinforced Zafar’s desire to improve the lives of deprived women of Pakistan, and to ensure a sustainable existence for those “who literally have to count their pennies every single day”. She further familiarized herself with the concepts and workings of microfinance by traveling the length and breadth of not just Pakistan, but also places like Bangladesh where the internationally acclaimed microfinance model of the Grameen Bank had flourished over the last few decades. After engaging in multiple discussions with the bank’s founder, Muhammad Yunus, about the mechanisms of microfinance, she went ahead with the idea of setting up a formal microcredit organization in Pakistan in 1995.

    Almost two decades down this long and winding road, the Kashf legacy persists through effortless contributions of skilled personnel, operating out of 180 different locations across all four provinces of Pakistan. By providing cheap and sustainable entrepreneurial loans, insurance services and education training programmes, Kashf currently has 230,000 active clients under its belt. Although it has flourished in the domestic setting, Roshaneh Zafar stresses the importance of building relationships with the larger clientele community, an effort that failed to generate promising responses in the earlier phases of the foundation.

    Zafar was adamant that “there are several pieces attached to the prospect of providing entrepreneurial services to women in Pakistan”, emphasizing a holistic approach: the actual challenge is “to change the psyche and mindset of female low-income workers”, who largely exist in a male-dominant society and are discouraged by men to take up jobs. Due to the increasing difficulty of establishing business relationships with clients, Kashf introduced a number of initiatives for microfinance insurance capacity building and for changing attitudes, the most effective being regular theatrical plays with active audience participation. These plays are based on contemporary social themes that plague Pakistani society today, and require the audience to re-imagine the conclusions by providing insights into beneficial and cost-effective solutions to various problems.

    Along similar lines, Kashf also has several other training and mentoring programs such as the Business Incubation Lab, which enables rising entrepreneurs to expand their businesses by learning to make networks, showcasing products and studying competition. These programs have successfully trained close to 9,000 women, and the numbers seem to keep rising with the popularity generated by Kashf over the years.

    Roshaneh Zafar - Kashf Foundation

    Roshaneh Zafar receiving Vital Voices' economic empowerment award

    While the foundation has been largely successful in its planning and organization, Roshaneh Zafar self-effacingly points out some flaws that have been hard to overcome. From the inefficient group-based approach of providing microcredit to the lengthy loan forms, Kashf has managed to revamp the few problems in its operations. Working against all odds, Roshaneh Zafar and the Kashf Foundation have provided a model for Pakistani women aspiring to become entrepreneurs by earning and contributing to their families.

    As recognition of her services, Roshaneh Zafar was awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, the highest civilian award of the Government of Pakistan, and was also a recipient of the Viltal Voices Global Leadership Award in 2010. These are befitting accolades for a woman who left the comfort zone of the World Bank to introduce microfinance in Pakistan, and  whose Kashf Foundation has been listed by Forbes amongst the top 50 MFIs.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021