Muawin by Cashew Financial Services today announced that it has received a regulatory license to operate as a Non-Banking Financial Company from the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
The license grants Muawin the right to operate as an independent digital lending entity throughout Pakistan. This milestone is a major move for Muawin on its mission to provide smart & dynamic financing products to micro-entrepreneurs and the unbanked population of the country.
Since its inception, the company’s primary focus has been to intelligently support micro-entrepreneurs with their working capital needs. MSMEs such as Kiryana stores have always found it difficult to secure any means of formal financing due to an archaic credit profiling system and lack of credit history data.
Considering MSMEs contribute up to 30% of the GDP, the company understands how vital it is to improve financial inclusion in the country by providing access to financial services which help empower these enterprising individuals which will ultimately lead to a healthier economic structure for Pakistan.
Upon receiving the SECP license, Muawin’s CEO & Founder, Ammar Afif, shared, “The goal for Muawin is to bring about the incremental lasting impact to the hard-working and enterprising individuals that make up our local landscape. The trust placed in us by the regulators at SECP will allow us to build a platform that is tailored towards uplift and sustainable development through the provision of credit facilities.”
Financial inclusion is hindered due to the lack of data collection and data analysis mechanisms currently existing in the banking sector. Muawin aims to solve that using its back-end technology powered by AI & ML to collect alternative data points that help create a more dynamic credit profile making it easier to make quick & smarter credit decisions.
Muawin, while operating in Lahore, has successfully gained access to 15,000 micro-retailers who need working capital; and most recently entered into a tri-party agreement with Uber & Shell Pakistan to provide fuel financing to Uber’s partner drivers.
Now, as a licensed entity, Muawin can continue with its plan to aggressively expand all over Pakistan and gain access to 1,000,000+ retailers and play its part in improving the country’s financial inclusion.
With the issuance of a fully approved license by SECP, the vision of providing digital financial services to those that are often overlooked by formal financial institutions seems much closer and attainable.
“It’s more than just a license – it’s a validation of our team, our product, and our commitment to helping our customers get access to quick, easy, and affordable access to working capital. By leveraging the current digitization drive combined with a progressive regulatory environment, we are on a mission to financially empower millions,” added Moeed Qamar, Co-Founder of Muawin.
