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As part of work experience, I had the opportunity to work in various fields within the microfinance
industry which entailed policy making in a multi-disciplinary paradigm. This paradigm was defined by the
double bottom line operations of Kashf Microfinance Bank Limited; to earn profits for financial
sustainability and to become a tool of poverty alleviation through provision of financial services to the
poor.

One of my major achievements at Kashf was designing Kashf motorbike leasing product (Kashf Sawari).
This product was designed to introduce formal leasing to the low income salaried employees of private
as well as public institutions of Pakistan. The interesting aspect of this project was that at the time none
of the formal financial institution offered this product. The product was aimed at bringing about
sustainable and effective change in the lifestyles of the poor population.
Moreover, it aimed at diversifying the portfolio base of the microfinance sector which was hitherto
focused on providing credit to either agriculture sector or manufacturing/ trading sector. The product
aimed at including the poor working in the services sector into the fold of microfinance.
In order to effectively launch the product, proper groundwork was laid down which included conducting
primary research focused on exploratory, descriptive and casual relationships between markets
linkages, supply and demand, marketing agents and existing players in the market. The research phase
was followed by development of the product manual. After the product manual we started a pilot
project in Mid 2010, I was alleviated to product head in December 2010.

I was initially part of the the team which was responsible for the sales of this product. However due to
my competence I was allivated to Product Head in October 2010. I was given a team of 17 individuals
and a distinctive position in the structure of the organization. From joining Kashf Micorinfnace bank
Limited as an associate and to travel up the ranks to the position of product head is an achievement
which I am very proud of.

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successful mainly due to three factors. Firstly, the research team identified that the
target clients prefer insurance against theft or damage and are willing to pay extra for it. Secondly, the
sales team hired for the job was properly trained and incentivized in a way that they were awarded
bonus for every sale of the motorbike. Thirdly, as assistant manager institutional marketing, I
approached the human resource department of various companies and asked them to collaborate with
KMBL in order to facilitate their employees. As a result, some of the companies agreed to pay a certain
fraction of the installment on behalf of their employees

As a research and product development expert at Kashf Microfinance Bank, my primary challenge was
to help the bank in striking a balance in attaining financial sustainability without compromising on its
goal of poverty alleviation and creating equitable opportunities for all. Incidentally, while I had to
provide input to bank in terms of identification of untapped microfinance market segments in Pakistan, I
also had the opportunity to gain firsthand experience in understanding the needs of the poor and
marginalized segment of the society, and help develop products and services aimed at eliminating
barriers of economic growth for the poor. This entailed working alongside multilateral organization like
Women World Banking, Shore Cap International, International Finance Corporation and Nielsen to help
design micro credit and micro savings facilities for the poor.
Moreover, in line with the bank͛s mission to bring about a social change, I also had the opportunity to
play a key role in the conceptualization and development of social and environmental policy at Kashf
Microfinance Bank Limited. The most interesting aspect of this project was the creation of linkages
between various institutions for capacity building of female entrepreneurs and to help them gain access
to sustainable sources of livelihoods.
Another major project that I was involved in was the research, product development and marketing of
motorbike leasing facility. This product was designed to introduce formal leasing to the low income
salaried employees of private as well as public institutions of Pakistan. The interesting aspect of this
project was that at the time none of the formal financial institution offered this product. The product
was aimed at bringing about sustainable and effective change in the lifestyles of the poor population.
Moreover, it aimed at diversifying the portfolio base of the microfinance sector which was hitherto
focused on providing credit to either agriculture sector or manufacturing/ trading sector. The product
aimed at including the poor working in the services sector into the fold of microfinance. In order to
effectively launch the product, proper groundwork was laid down which included conducting primary
research focused on exploratory, descriptive and casual relationships between markets linkages, supply
and demand, marketing agents and existing players in the market. The research phase was followed by
development of the product manual for which the input was gained from existing practices of
commercial banks and informal leasing agents. The product was co-branded with an insurance company
Ahmed Bilal Hakeem
in order to create awareness regarding the benefits of the insurance that was not being offered by the
informal lenders.
The product was successful mainly due to three factors. Firstly, the research team identified that the
target clients prefer insurance against theft or damage and are willing to pay extra for it. Secondly, the
sales team hired for the job was properly trained and incentivized in a way that they were awarded
bonus for every sale of the motorbike. Thirdly, as assistant manager institutional marketing, I
approached the human resource department of various companies and asked them to collaborate with
KMBL in order to facilitate their employees. As a result, some of the companies agreed to pay a certain
fraction of the installment on behalf of their employees.