Financial Literacy in Pakistan: Leveling the Playing Field

Topping today’s international financial literacy news is the announcement in Pakistan by Habib Bank Limited (HBL) that it has partnered with Idara-e-Taleem-O-Aagahi (ITA) to roll out an innovative financial education initiative designed to teach children a broad range of financial concepts and provide them with the resources and tools they need to boost their financial literacy and confidence.

The three primary objectives of this ground-breaking partnership will be to educate kids regarding the importance of savings, instill a habit of early savings for this young population, and teach both privileged and under privileged youth equally, thereby leveling the playing field among Pakistan’s early aged learners.

HBL, headquartered in Karachi, is Pakistan’s largest bank, with a large and growing network of more than 1,500 branches in Pakistan and over 50 branches globally.  The bank’s domestic market share is greater than 40 percent, with a focus not only on the commercial banking sector, which it dominates, but also a significant share of the market for loans and banking services to small industries, farmers and traders.

The partnership announced with ITA represents a noteworthy commitment by the Bank to invest in and support financial literacy in Pakistan, and it further represents just the latest of many major efforts to drive the levels of financial literacy higher throughout the country.  The State Bank of Pakistan launched the Nationwide Financial Literacy Program (NFLP) in 2011 with a mission of providing a greater understanding among the populace of financial products, services and concepts so that individuals could become more empowered with respect to their personal finance decision making. The first pilot phase of NFLP reached over 45,000  people and, after evaluation and review by independent third parties, was poised to scale and target more than 450,000 individuals.

It is notable that financial education programs in Pakistan have been focusing on a broad range of population segments. For example, recent news out of Peshawar underscored that the State Bank of Pakistan has been supporting and investing in financial literacy initiatives at the grassroots level, including for the nation’s farmers. Many have contended that such programs go a long way towards improving the financial condition for the farming and grassroots population by educating the citizenry, removing regulatory impediments, and capacity building for these individuals who historically experienced greater challenges with respect to their overall financial wherewithal.

Many industry observers have been following financial literacy developments in Pakistan to guide their own countries’ efforts to improve the levels of financial literacy awareness and achievement.  It is programs and initiatives like these that continue to bolster the entire financial literacy movement  in communities and nations across the globe, boding very well for financial education on both an imminent and long-term basis.