The mission at Kashf in Pakistan is to provide cost-effective and quality microfinance services to poor women, to enhance women's economic opportunities and their role in decision-making. Kashf aims to lead to an improvement in clients' incomes to move beyond the poverty trap.

Last year, the organisation has grown from 15 to over 50 staff and has built a network of 5 branch offices located in different low-income communities of Lahore. Kashf is now catering to over 3600 clients and has undergone a real 'greening' effect through 2800 new clients added during the current year. Over US$ 280,000 have been disbursed in loans and around US$ 2,800 saved by clients during the year!

There has been a strong emphasis on building a durable microfinance institution through standardization of systems and providing excellent customer service to its ever-growing client base. Kashf has been able to maintain a portfolio at risk of only 0.3%, which conforms to industry standards. Kashf has enhanced its understanding of the market for microfinance through its cutting edge research and is poised to expand its operations.

On the service side, Kashf has developed "pro-poor" and attractive loan and savings products which provide clients with flexibility and quick service. The consumption loan was introduced this year and savings products were made flexible, allowing clients to withdraw at their leisure and will. The product features were refined in terms of quality, trust, dependability and responsiveness amongst the clients. These features have enabled Kashf to build brand loyalty and ensured that 96% of its customers want to continue participation with the program.

Kashf has also focused on capacity building of staff which continues to be an integral part of the program. Kashf has upheld a high level of staff morale and a strong buy into Kashf's core policies and values. One of Kashf's core values is to become a part of the solution and not of the problem - this generates pro-active management and planning at all levels. As a result, Kashf was also nominated by the Grameen Foundation, USA, for the Microfinance Excellence Award 2000, for its active involvement and promotion of microfinance in Pakistan.

Kashf is now focused on moving forward to cater to a larger number of women from poor communities. One of the main challenges for Kashf is to manage its growth process smoothly. In the future, Kashf will maintain its core commitments to loan portfolio quality, customer responsiveness and innovation. Understanding client needs, their preferences and concerns are a key priority for the programme. At the same time, Kashf will also focus on improving productivity and efficiency of its operations.

Kashf is encouraging Savings among its clients: Razia Baji, saving to meet needs in the future said: "If Kashf wasn't there, I would never have been able to save the way I do now. In addition, in saving with Kashf, the transaction is between the loan officer and me and nobody in the family finds out the amount saved. Hence they cannot constantly pester me to withdraw the amount and spend it unnecessarily. I feel satisfied, the element of a lingering uncertainty is no longer there, I feel at peace."

Kashf is encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit: Khursheed Baji, starting a business from the scratch to minimize risks and avert disaster in her household observed:

"I have been able to command respect from my mohalla wallas through my self-reliance and grit and thank God that I had Kashf to help me out. I really want to grow my business. I want to get my house fixed. And more than that I want to ensure that my daughters acquire the skills of the day. I want them to do computer classes and be equipped to meet the modern day challenges."