Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) conducted a preliminary meeting to collaborate for financial inclusion of BISP beneficiaries, here at BISP headquarters in Islamabad. The team of Karandaz Pakistan, which is primary delivery partner for BMGF in Pakistan, was also present on this occasion. The meeting was part of the strategy being devised by BISP to fulfill the manifesto of Government of Pakistan for social sector development. Secretary BISP, Mr. Omar Hamid Khan stated that financial inclusion of beneficiaries through incorporating global best practices is imperative for BISP’s success. He added, “BISP has adopted several payment mechanisms for ensuring system’s efficiency and it is keen to adopt digital payment approaches which can benefit its beneficiaries.” The collaboration is intended towards shifting the UCT payment mechanism towards digital payments through micropayment gateway of BMGF. It will digitize the payment model and demonstrate case for G2P programs, and payment streams, in the Pakistani context. Program Officer BMGF Pakistan, Mr. Ali Mahmood said that BMGF and Karandaz intend to provide a micropayment model against BISP’s banking financial model. He added that BMGF is already engaged with State Bank of Pakistan to launch micropayment model and it could be beneficial for BISP to adopt it for payment to its beneficiaries. It was informed that BMGF launched its Gender Equality Strategy in November, 2017. Pakistan has been selected as one of the focus countries for D3 Assessment entirely on the basis of BISP performance in the area of gender empowerment which aims to identify what makes the most difference to the economic empowerment of poor women participating in major social safety net program. It is intended for assessments of existing and proposed social protection programs by flagging areas that would be expected to enhance the results for women’s economic empowerment, and those that may be barriers to change unless effectively addressed. Both the parties shared the resolve to enter into long term partnership to bring change in the lives of BISP beneficiaries through strengthening of financial system, which will ultimately lead to inclusive women empowerment.
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