Meta, NIBAF collaborate to up-skill women entrepreneurs

Meta is collaborating with the National Institute of Banking and Finance (NIBAF), a subsidiary of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to train and up-skill Pakistani women entrepreneurs in order to foster sustainability and resilience of women-led businesses in the country.

The program is being implemented under the ‘Business Resilience through Financial Education (BRFE)’ component of Meta’s flagship women empowerment program ‘SheMeansBusiness’. SheMeansBusiness was introduced in Pakistan in May 2020 in partnership with the SBP and USAID to bolster financial inclusion and resiliency of women-led businesses, particularly during the Covid-19 induced economic slowdown.

Under the arrangement, Meta, in collaboration with National Institute of Banking & Finance (NIBAF), will be hosting a series of online training sessions to up-skill 3,000 women entrepreneurs who are part of NIBAF’s National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y). The primary aim of the program is to strengthen women’s business financial understanding and help them grow their businesses for enhancing their socioeconomic standing and role in the society. NFLP-Y program focuses on managing personal finances and has a wide reach within Pakistan.

“Financial empowerment is one of the key drivers of women empowerment. NIBAF is excited to collaborate with META to strengthen the financial literacy and digital skills of Pakistani women. We hope that this partnership will help our women craft their own entrepreneurship journeys”, says Riaz Nazarali Chunara, Managing Director NIBAF.

“We are excited to collaborate with NIBAF to foster financial education and training for Pakistan women entrepreneurs”, Beth Ann Lim, Director, APAC Policy Programs and Government Outreach  – Meta said. “Financial education is crucial for sustainability and resilience of small and medium enterprises, especially when combined with digital skills. Over the last 2 years we’ve found that entrepreneurs that have adopted digital tools have been more resilient, financial education would further enable them to adapt and grow their businesses. I hope this arrangement goes on to make a significant difference for women led businesses in the country.”

The Meta-NIBAF partnership aims to build on the two organizations’ shared experience in upskilling and enabling up and coming entrepreneurs for improved business prospects. While Meta has been leveraging its social media platforms and digital expertise for human development and economic recovery post-Covid-19, NIBAF also boasts extensive capabilities and expertise in designing and delivering a range of training programs, workshops, and seminars in subjects relevant to economics, banking, finance, and management for capacity building of commercial bankers, micro and rural finance providers, management professionals and entrepreneurs in the country. Its National Financial Literacy Program for Youth (NFLP-Y) educates the Pakistani youth and school-going children on money management skills.

All in all, Meta has taken a grand step in empowering women in different domains hence enabling them to overcome numerous roadblocks in their entrepreneurial paths.