KARACHI: The Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Jameel Ahmad, highlighting the progress made in financial inclusion and gender equality in the country on Wednesday, said that women’s financial inclusion has risen to 52 percent while gender gap has been narrowed to 30
The SBP Governor, while addressing the Pakistan Women Entrepreneurship Day (PWED) 2025 event at the SBP, emphasized the event as a celebration of the creativity, determination, and success of women who are driving economic transformation in Pakistan as no nation can grow when half of its population is excluded from the financial system.
Jameel Ahmad informed that women’s financial inclusion has risen from 4% to 52 % while the gender gap narrowed from 47% in 2018 to 30% in 2025. More than 17.6 million new women owned bank accounts have been added since 2021 while significant progress has been made in provision of loans to women led business, he said, adding “Over 974,000 loans have been disbursed amounting to Rs. 230.3 billion between November 2024 and October 2025.”
Under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy 2024-28, the central bank was aiming to push financial inclusion to 75% and reduce the gender gap to 25% by 2028, he vowed.
SBP has pursued a deliberate, multi-pronged strategy to expand women’s financial inclusion, he said and stressed that for sustaining the progress made so far, we must continue building the ecosystem, where women-led businesses can access finance, markets and mentorship.
Indicating that most women borrowers remain clustered in micro and entry-level segments as well as structural barriers hindering financial inclusion of women, the SBP governor emphasized to focus on providing an enabling environment that can foster greater female participation in the formal economy on a sustainable basis.
The Governor appreciated the role of the banking industry in expanding financial inclusion of females and the ongoing institutional shift within the banks that is reflected from the fact that over 14,600 women have joined the banking workforce in the last three years, raising the overall ratio of female employees from 13 to 17 percent.
The State Bank hired a batch of young female graduates under Emerging Women Leaders Initiative and it now has a female member on the SBP’s Board while Pakistan became a global signatory to the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code in February 2025, he stated and added that SBP, along with 22 banks, has pledged to share data, introduce new actions, and appoint leadership to improve women’s access to finance.
He also mentioned the collaborative efforts for conducting more than 300 awareness and mentorship programs across 55 districts, engaging over 45,000 women across the country and said ‘This puts Pakistan on the global map in terms of turning inclusion commitments into measurable accountability’.
The event featured insightful contributions from guest speakers including Chairperson Pakistan Business Council Dr. Zeelaf Munir, CEO TCS Group Saira Awan Malik and President Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Korangi Shabista Bakhtiar, shared their expertise on women entrepreneurship, business opportunities, and the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Pakistan.
The Governor SBP, at the occasion, also handed over the awards to winners of Women of Impact Awards, Business Idea Competition and Empower Her Campaign Awards.
PWED 2025 served as a platform to celebrate the ambition, resilience, and economic participation of women in Pakistan and this national celebration brought together a diverse range of stakeholders including policymakers, financial institutions, development partners, business leaders, and inspiring women entrepreneurs.
