Alkhidmat has given interest-free loans to hundreds of unemployed: CEO Naveed Ali Baig

Alkhidmat Karachi has given interest-free loans to hundreds of unemployed and deserving people to help them establish small businesses through its nationwide microfinancing program, Mawakhat. According to CEO Alkhidmat Karachi Naveed Ali Baig, initial assistance may be between PKR 30,000 to 75,000, including loans given for a limited period of time such as on the occasion of Ramadan or Eid-ul-Azha to help trade in festive goods or sacrificial animals. He disclosed that the percentage of loanees who had repaid their loans was quite high as the loans were interest-free and only required repayment in small amounts. Director Mawakhat Alkhidmat Karachi Yousuf Mohideen added that another initiative under the Mawakhat program was the Skill Development Center in PIB, Karachi that imparts free technical training courses to semi-literate youth to help them learn professional trades such as electric maintenance, tailoring and mobile phone repairing. The success of the SDC can be gauged from the fact that nearly 60% of those who have passed out of the Skill Development Center have either gained employment or established their own businesses, thus earning a respectable living for themselves and their families. New courses for Industrial Automation and Solar PV technicians have been added recently. These successes have led to the expansion of this initiative and more such centers are being established at various places in the city.  He highlighted that such efforts were possible only through the assistance and generosity of Alkhidmat’s donors and supporters. Lastly, he called upon those with means in society to come forward and help Alkhidmat in such activities which benefit individuals and society as a whole.