Concave AGRI, a Lakson Group initiative, has partnered with U Microfinance Bank Ltd. (U Bank) to increase availability and ease of access to financial loans and insurance to small and medium scale farmers across Pakistan through their Kissan Dukan vertical.
These loans comprise of two packages created by U Microfinance Bank. The first one is the Zarai Qarza loan—a smaller loan aimed at extending life and health insurance to farmers and to finance the basic needs of the agriculture sector. The second package is the Agri Pass Book loan which will offer complimentary crop and life insurance, optional health insurance and is aimed at meeting all of the needs of the agriculture sector, such as purchasing fertilizers, seeds, pesticides, and agricultural machinery & equipment. Concave AGRI has worked with U Bank to make these packages available as products on their Kissan Dukan platform.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this partnership was signed by Ms. Ambreen Malik, Chief Business and Chief Digital Officer – U Microfinance Bank and Mr. Muhammad Ali Iqbal, President – Concave AGRI, while the signing ceremony was presided over by Mr. Kabeer Naqvi, President & CEO – U Microfinance Bank and Mr. Ather Imran, CEO – Sybrid (Pvt.) Ltd.
Muhammad Ali Iqbal, the President of Concave AGRI, stated: “The small and medium farmers of Pakistan make up the backbone of the country’s agriculture sector and, in turn, its economy. This segment stands to benefit the most from access to financial services which can then help them massively improve production through appropriate crop inputs and new technologies. Since small and medium farmers make up a majority of the agriculture sector, increased accessibility will also boost agricultural productivity overall. Through our partnership with U Bank, Concave AGRI, through Kissan Dukan, is aiming to turn this vision into an achievable reality!”
Mr. Kabeer Naqvi, President & CEO – U Microfinance Bank commented, “At U Bank our endeavor is to empower the agricultural sector by bringing them into the banking net. This access will help the farmers have better control over their finances, living standards, and livelihoods. This will also enable the economy to benefit from higher yields and superior agri products’ quality. As we continue to innovate and adapt to newer digital solutions to further our vision, we are delighted to have partnered with Concave AGRI to play our part in bringing banking to farmers who are a very critical player of our ecosystem.”
Kissan Dukan is a platform which offers climate adaptive inputs, IPM (Integrated Pest Management) solutions, modern precision agriculture technologies, and financial services such as loans and agri-insurance. This partnership is an impactful step in ensuring that small and medium scale farmers have access to relevant financial services through an easy and optimized experience.
About Concave AGRI:
Concave AGRI is on its way to becoming one of the largest one-stop channels for providing data-driven, end-to-end solutions to farmers all over the country. With our farmer first approach, we recently launched our physical shop of Kissan Dukan in Mathra, Peshawar District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan to establish an on-ground interface with farmers. As part of Kissan Dukan’s contribution to the flood relief effort, a truck full of silage (livestock feed) was supplied and distributed free of cost to farmers that had been displaced by the floods.
About U Microfinance Bank:
U Microfinance Bank Ltd. (U Bank) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) – Etisalat Group. The bank has a network of more than 200 branches, across 210 cities and rural areas in Pakistan and offers a wide range of microfinance loans, deposit products and branchless banking solutions. U Bank’s branchless banking offers services under the banner of UPaisa in collaboration with Ufone (Pak Telecom Mobile Limited). The service is offered at nearly 45,000 agent locations across Pakistan.