Easypaisa gets $6.5 million grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Easypaisa, a joint initiative of Telenor Pakistan and Tameer Micro Finance Bank, received a dollar 6.5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to increase adoption of its mobile financial services among Pakistan's poorest households and to strengthen its distribution network in poor and rural communities.
This was announced in a press conference held here on Tuesday. While addressing on the occasion, Vice President of Financial Services Telenor Pakistan, Roar Bjaerum said that accessible mobile financial services could help catalyse Pakistan's socio-economic efforts.
"Financial exclusion of the lower income population is a systemic challenge in Pakistan. With more than 85 percent of population not having access to formal savings or credit products, many households are vulnerable to fluctuations in daily income and unable to absorb economic shocks from unexpected events.
Easypaisa's vision is to serve as a vehicle for financial inclusion for such households. The grant will help us accelerate adoption of Easypaisa services among poor and un-banked individuals," he said. Rodger Voorhies, Director of the Gates Foundation's Financial Services for the Poor initiative, said the aim of the project was to expand the range of services so that poor Pakistanis could access through Easypaisa.
"While Easypaisa has seen rapid adoption of its payment and remittance services, adoption of mobile financial services, like savings and insurance, has been slower," Voorhies said. "This grant aims at accelerating adoption of Easypaisa's Mobile Account among poor and un-banked households to create a foundation for the delivery of savings, insurance, and other mobile financial services."