KARACHI: Meezan Bank, Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank, and the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) from Karachi recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate capacity building in the country’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.
The MoU highlights a collaborative framework for launching a specialised MBA Program in ‘SME Banking and Entrepreneurship’. At the signing ceremony, IoBM’s President, Talib S Karim, as well as Meezan Bank Founding President and CEO, Irfan Siddiqui were present and accompanied by State Bank of Pakistan’s Additional Director Imran Ahmad.
Meezan Bank’s recent association with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for the provision of advisory and technical services for SME business vertical has been further extended to engage the country’s academia. The specialised MBA programmes are therefore being designed to meet requirements of both young entrepreneurs and SME bankers in the country. This collaboration will allow the structuring of a program that covers challenges faced by the SME industry such as cash flow lending, program lending, trade financing, value chain financing, and SME advisory.
Speaking at the occasion, Irfan Siddiqui said, “Meezan Bank’s collaboration with IoBM has the potential to assist and support SMEs in building their capacity and capabilities. We are hopeful that the finished product will not just benefit Meezan Bank but the entire Islamic banking industry by assisting the development of skilled resources in Pakistan.”
