KARACHI: Pakistani fintech ABHI, which expanded its operations to the United Arab of Emirates (UAE) and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has launched ABHI Microfinance Bank in collaboration with TPL Corp, the company said on Thursday.
Founded in 2021, ABHI has been serving customers in Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh through its credit-bridging products such as the Earned Wage Access (EWA) facility.
TPL Corp. is the investment holding company of the TPL Group with investments across the insurance, real estate, transport, securities, technology and financial sectors
ABHI said its strategic collaboration, approved by the Pakistani central bank, was a major step toward redefining financial inclusion in the South Asian country.
“This acquisition marks a significant step toward strengthening Pakistan’s financial ecosystem and expanding access to credit for unserved and underserved communities,” the fintech firm quoted State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmed as saying at the launch of ABHI Microfinance Bank.
“Collaborations like these play a vital role in driving financial inclusion and empowering individuals and businesses across the country.”
The event, hosted by ABHI and TPL Corp. in Karachi, brought together international investors, industry leaders, financial experts and key stakeholders, serving as a platform to highlight the collective vision of the three entities in transforming Pakistan’s financial landscape.
The development comes as Pakistan seeks to increase financial inclusion and document its economy as the South Asian country treads a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
SBP Governor Ahmad this week said the central bank has set a target to increase bank account coverage in the country to 75 percent of the adult population and to reduce the gender gap to 25 percent by 2028.
Pakistan, with a population of 240 million, is home to one of the world’s largest unbanked populations, with around 64 percent of its adult population having a bank account, according to central bank figures.
The central bank chief also urged the banking industry to increase their usage of artificial intelligence, based on cellular and satellite data, to provide cost-effective alternative delivery channels to enhance access, usage and quality of financial services.
Pakistani fintech ABHI, after Middle East expansion, launches microfinance bank
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Pakistani fintech ABHI, after Middle East expansion, launches microfinance bank
- Founded in 2021, ABHI has been serving customers in Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh through its credit-bridging products
- The fintech firm says its collaboration with TPL Corp. to launch microfinance bank is a major step toward financial inclusion in Pakistan
Pakistan PM orders accelerated privatization of power sector to tackle losses
- Tenders to be issued for privatization of three major electricity distribution firms, PMO says
- Sharif says Pakistan to develop battery energy storage through public-private partnerships
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday directed the government to speed up privatization of state-owned power companies and improve electricity infrastructure nationwide, as authorities try to address deep-rooted losses and inefficiencies in the energy sector that have weighed on the economy and public finances.
Pakistan’s electricity system has long struggled with financial distress caused by a combination of factors including theft of power, inefficient collection of bills, high costs of generating electricity and a large burden of unpaid obligations known as “circular debt.” In the first quarter of the current financial year, government-owned distribution companies recorded losses of about Rs171 billion ($611 million) due to poor bill recovery and operational inefficiencies, official documents show. Circular debt in the broader power sector stood at around Rs1.66 trillion ($5.9 billion) in mid-2025, a sharp decline from past peaks but still a major fiscal drain.
Efforts to contain these losses have been a focus of Pakistan’s economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund, which has urged structural changes in the energy sector as part of financing conditions. Previous government initiatives have included signing a $4.5 billion financing facility with local banks to ease power sector debt and reducing retail electricity tariffs to support economic recovery.
“Electricity sector privatization and market-based competition is the sustainable solution to the country’s energy problems,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a meeting reviewing the roadmap for power sector reforms, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The meeting reviewed progress on privatization and infrastructure projects. Officials said tenders for modernizing one of Pakistan’s oldest operational hubs, Rohri Railway Station, will be issued soon and that the Ghazi Barotha to Faisalabad transmission line, designed to improve long-distance transmission of electricity, is in the initial approval stages. While not all power-sector decisions were detailed publicly, the government emphasized expanding private sector participation and completing priority projects to strengthen the electricity grid.
In another key development, the prime minister endorsed plans to begin work on a battery energy storage system with participation from private investors to help manage fluctuations in supply and demand, particularly as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind take a growing role in generation. Officials said the concept clearance for the storage system has been approved and feasibility studies are underway.
Government briefing documents also outlined steps toward shifting some electricity plants from imported coal to locally mined Thar coal, where a railway line expansion is underway to support transport of fuel, potentially lowering costs and import dependence in the long term.
State authorities also pledged to address safety by converting unmanned railway crossings to staffed ones and to strengthen food safety inspections at stations, underscoring broader infrastructure and service improvements connected to energy and transport priorities.
