SBP kicks-off WE-Finance Code implementation to ‘empower women entrepreneurs’

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kicked off on Friday implementation of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code (WE Finance Code), a global initiative to increase financing to women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (WSMEs).

The WE Finance Code, coordinated under the global initiative known as Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), was launched by the World Bank in 2023.

The central bank officially joined the WE Finance Code in July 2025, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and under the leadership of the World Bank. The ADB partnered the initiative with a substantial $500 million financing programme to Pakistan.

‘We are building pathways that ensure women entrepreneurs could fully participate in and contribute to Pakistan’s economic growth’, said Saleem Ullah Deputy Governor, SBP, while addressing at the inaugural event of the Women Entrepreneurship Finance (WE-FI) Code Consultative Workshop, the central bank said in a statement on Friday.

Saleem Ullah said the SBP was committed to drive forward the agenda of promoting women entrepreneurship and their access to finance for building an inclusive and sustainable financial system, as outlined in its Strategic Plan 2028.

He also highlighted the central bank’s aim to advance women’s financial inclusion through Banking on Equality Policy and digital initiatives.

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While access to financial services had improved, structural barriers continued to limit women entrepreneurs from getting formal credit, he shared.

The Code aims to dismantle the financial barriers faced by women-led businesses.

“As the lead implementing agency in Pakistan, SBP has mobilised a coalition of 23 financial institutions—including conventional, Islamic, and microfinance banks—alongside the Pakistan Banks Association, all united under the Code’s action-oriented framework,” the central bank said.

To kick-off the implementation of WE Finance Code in Pakistan, a two-day workshop was held by the SBP, in collaboration with Asian Development Bank (ADB), in Islamabad, bringing together signatory banks, regulators and development partners to formulate a concrete national action plan.

The workshop concentrated on “actionable strategies for gender-intelligent product innovation, improved data collection and reporting, and strengthened credit appraisal mechanisms tailored to women-led enterprise”.