Cashew Financial Services Launches Instant Financing for Micro-Retailers Post SECP’s NOC

Cashew Financial Services (Pvt) Ltd., (Cashew) has announced that it has received NOC for its for Non-Banking Microfinance Company by Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) to launch digital microfinance services. The first micro-financing product to be rolled out from cashew’s digital platform is branded “Muawin”.

Cashew will focus on offering inventory on credit for micro-retailers, ultimately driving financial growth & empowerment for this market segment. The entity will lend primarily through its Sharia-compliant products.

Estimated at over 800,000, these small businesses face significant barriers to access credit. With no credit history, business paperwork, or available collateral – they usually source highly expensive credit through loan sharks in the market.

From Left to Right: Moeed Qamar (Co-Founder), Hashim Ali (Co-Founder), Naweed Sharif (Executive Director), Walid Ahmed (Executive Director)

Cashew has been founded by Ammar Afif who has spent over 20 years in Silicon Valley & Boston, successfully building, scaling, and exiting tech start-ups as a VC, PE Investor, CFO, and COO. He is currently on a mission to bring instant financing to the MENA region.

Along with him, Cashew is co-founded by Hashim Ali and Moeed Qamar, both LUMS graduates with extensive expertise in all things Fintech.

On the development, Ammar said, “We are grateful to the SECP for the trust they have placed in our mission by granting us regulatory NOC.  The time has never been better for disruption in Pakistan’s credit space, especially with such a high penetration of smartphone-enabled internet access for shop-owners and gig-economy workers around the country.”

“We hope to help grow millions of small businesses through our platform.  Our philosophy is simple: Financial Inclusion leads to Financial Empowerment,” he added.

Disclaimer: This is a re-published article with corrections. With reference to the previous article, it incorrectly stated that Muawin gets SECP Approval, launches digital financing for small businesses. It is to clarify that SECP has granted NOC to Cashew Financial Services Limited to carry out microfinance services. Whereas, Muawin is the name of the brand under which Cashew Financial Services will be offering its services. The previous article incorrectly mentioned the company name and registration status. We regret any confusion caused due to this error.



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