With a unique focus on clients’ evolving needs, Kashf always remains at the cutting edge of pioneering new products and services for its clients. We offer the following set of products to our clients:

General Loan

 "The general loan helps us meet our financial needs for running businesses" - Kashf client – Razia Bibi

The GL focuses on building and sustaining economic opportunities of poor households and thus achieving Kashf’s over-arching goal of alleviating poverty. The GL is based on group collateral where a group of 25 women jointly insure each other against default. In light of KASHF's strong commitment to customer care, center members have to wait only 7 days after their registration to get the first loan, while repeat clients can obtain a loan within 24 hours.  The loans are advanced to female members of the household and it is the mutual decision of the household to decide on the economic activity that they will invest in. 

Emergency Loan

The EL has been designed to provide credit to clients during financially volatile periods. Clients use EL to pay their children's school fees, utility bills and all other unplanned petty expenditures. The EL loan is very easy and quick to access. Timely access to money gives women a sense of relief and comfort since they are able to meet the needs of their families and do not have to borrow at exorbitant rates from traditional money lenders or request it from relatives and friends. The product is seen as a client friendly and women friendly product due to its ease of availability. The EL serves as a complementary loan to the GL and loans are disbursed through the same center methodology.

Home Improvement Loan

“With the help of Kashf, I shall be able to construct a room for my son who plans to get married this year. It gives me a sense of pride to give my son such a valuable gift for his marriage” – Jamila Baji

Kashf introduced the HIL in 2006, since home improvement and renovation was identified as a key priority by clients. The loan aims to increase the asset value of clients’ homes and improve their living standards. Although seen as a non-productive loan some clients have used it to make a room for the purpose of rental, while others have used it to provide a shed for their cattle. Also, some of Kashf’s rental clients have been able to use it to construct basic structures on plots of land they previously owned and which they hope to improve incrementally.

The HIL works on the same group liability model where three to ten clients from the existing center form an HIL group and the responsibility of approval and repayment lies with the center. Since its inception in July 2006, a total of 215 loans have been disbursed resulting in a total disbursement of Rs 4,680,000. 

Business Surmaya Loan

“I currently employ 35 women from the village and am able to earn around Rs. 6,000 per week. People in the locality see me as a role model. All this would not have been possible had Kashf not given me access to higher loan sizes” –  Saima Baji

Clients requiring loans below Rs 500,000 cannot obtain access to formal financial sources, since such amounts are still too small for commercial banks.  A quick estimate can show that the potential market for small enterprises is about 6 million with a negligible outreach to such entrepreneurs by the banking and the microfinance sector as a whole. Kashf targets fast moving small entrepreneurs through the BSL, the entire methodology of which is based on a credit scoring model. The BSL is advanced to clients with a minimum of 2 years running experience of their businesses and has no collateral requirements. Generally the loan has a minimum processing time of less than 5 days.

This product was handed over to the Kashf Microfinance Bank Limited in 2008. For further information please visit the KMBL website.

Insurance

"The knowledge that being insured would not let my indebtedness harm my children in case of any mishap helps me sleep easily at night" - Shamim Baji

Credit for life insurance has been a popular product amongst Kashf’s clients, since economic upheavals are a regular part of their lives. Kashf was one of the pioneer organizations to introduce life insurance for poor clients in order to deal with emergency periods such as the death of a bread winner. This service is provided to the client and her spouse at a minimal premium. The insurance covers all outstanding loan balances plus a small burial payout at the time of the death of either party.  This means that the family is able to cope with the consequences of such an event and faces no liabilities at that time. This is in stark contrast to the exploitative lending practices of the traditional money lender, where the burden of repayment of the loan is transferred to the remaining family members.