Articles by Misbah Naqvi

Acumen Fund investee Kashf Foundation is the featured 5 Diamond profile of this month on the MIX Market, a global microfinance information platform on the web. The MIX Market rates Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) on their transparency in reporting, by scoring them on a scale of one to five “diamonds”, with 5 being the highest possible level of accuracy and clarity in financial and operational program reporting. The MIX is seen as a global leader in championing financial transparency, accountability and disclosure standards in microfinance.

Kashf Foundation is one of Pakistan’s fastest growing microfinance institutions, with a mission of financial inclusion and providing women in Pakistan with access to microfinance products and services. Acumen Fund has been investing in Kashf since 2002 and has seen the organization grow to over 300,000 clients, with plans to reach 1 million by 2010. We have been working with Kashf to expand beyond simple microfinance to second generation products like the Home Improvement Loan (HIL). Kashf is a professionally-run organization, with clear financial reporting systems and processes and we are delighted to see them highlighted on MIX Market for transparency. MIX has also rated Kashf as one of the top 25 MFIs in the world for 2007. Kashf President Roshaneh Zafar has also recently been nominated to the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils on Financial Empowerment and the Gender Gap.

Visit the Kashf Foundation page on the Acumen Fund website to read more about our investment, view stories and a presentation at our office by Kashf Foundation CEO Sadaffe Abid.

This interesting article in the Economist highlights the difference between the adoption of a new technology in emerging markets and the diffusion of this technology in the country. This article also mentions some of the challenges faced in bringing large-scale technology-based solutions to the poor in some of the markets Acumen Fund focuses on. If we are to achieve sufficient scale and bring, for example, affordable and effective technology-based health solutions to low-income consumers in these markets, we have to support solutions that recognize and target these potential pitfalls.

This week was the two-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit northern Pakistan and Kashmir. While we pay our respects to the 75,000+ people who lost their lives, we are also aware that many of those left behind are still struggling to lead normal lives. While some progress has undoubtedly been made, the sheer scale of the impact - hundreds of thousands injured, thousands of schools and over 275,000 homes destroyed – and the tough terrain has made rebuilding and reconstruction an extremely challenging task for the authorities. 

This article highlights some of the remaining challenges, two years on, in rebuilding homes in the affected areas. As the next winter approaches, thousands are still without homes and are living in temporary shelters. Prices of materials, transport and labour have shot up and the compensation paid out by the government is not sufficient to help most people rebuild their homes. The situation is made worse by corruption, red tape and the lack of funds.

While these issues are obviously exacerbated in the post-earthquake era, at Acumen Fund we have seen how poor people struggle with very similar issues in trying to build and purchase homes. As we develop and invest in appropriate and successful models for housing low-income consumers, our work in this sector is beginning to provide breakthrough insights which, we hope, can one day assist those who may be impacted by a disaster like this earthquake.

This article emphasizes the need to ensure that biofuels are ethically produced, so that the drive towards using biofuels does not come at the cost of the poor’s sustenance. The article sparked an interesting email exchange among the Acumen Fund team, given our exploration of energy as an issue area for investment. If you click on “comments” below, you can follow the conversation.