ISLAMABAD
\nThe caretaker federal government on Friday appointed Dr Amjad Saqib as Chairman of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
\nPresident Dr Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Dr Amjad Saqib.
\nDr Arif Alvi approved the appointment under section 53 of Benazir Income Support Program Act 2010.
\nFounder of microfinance programme Akhuwat Dr Amjad Saqib has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work in poverty alleviation.
\nFor this year\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize, 343 candidates from around the world were nominated.
\nAkhuwat Foundation Chairman Dr Amjad said that his services are beyond such awards and they are purely for the sake of Allah.
\nEarlier in August 2021, Dr Amjad Saqib won The Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021, popularly known as the Asian Nobel Prize, for his \u201cfirst-of-its-kind\u201d interest- and collateral-free microfinance programme that has helped millions of poor families.
\nAkhuwat is the largest microfinance institution in Pakistan, offering a package of loans for the poor. It has distributed 4.8 million interest-free loans amounting to the equivalent of USD 900 million, helping three million families, with a remarkable 99.9% loan repayment rate.
\nDr Amjad Saqib is a development practitioner, public servant, philanthropist and founder of Akhuwat, world\u2019s largest interest-free microfinance program. His professional expertise and employment history include public management, poverty alleviation, social development, governance and educational reform in Pakistan.
\nHaving graduated from King Edward Medical University, Dr Saqib started his career by joining the esteemed civil service of Pakistan in 1985. He served at various high-level government positions including Punjab Rural Support Program (PRSP), a rural development and microfinance initiative by government of Punjab for seven years.
\nThe programme aimed at social mobilization, community organization and provision of financial access to the poor.
\nConcluding that an alternative method is needed to cater to the needs of the poor, he decided to resign from the civil service and dedicate his life to the mission of creating a poverty-free society by founding Akhuwat.
\nDr Saqib resigned from Civil Service in 2003 and founded Akhuwat the same year. He has been its CEO and main driving force since beginning. With seventeen years of successful operations, Akhuwat now presents a viable model of Shariah-compliant microfinance, which is both sustainable and replicable.
\nBesides Akhuwat, Dr. Saqib is voluntarily serving many civil society organizations in the realm of education, health, disability, banking and finance.
\nHe is also on the board of a commercial bank and a few public universities. Besides his pro-bono services, Dr Saqib regularly provides consultancy to various international development agencies including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Labor Organization (ILO), UNICEF, World Bank, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), USAID and Foreign Common Wealth and Development Office (FCDO, previously DFID) and different public sector organizations in Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The caretaker federal government on Friday appointed Dr Amjad Saqib as Chairman of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). President Dr Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Dr Amjad Saqib. Dr Arif Alvi approved the appointment under section 53 of Benazir Income Support Program Act 2010. Founder of microfinance programme Akhuwat Dr Amjad Saqib has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12968,12969],"class_list":{"0":"post-357661","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-amjad-saqib","9":"tag-bisp-chairman"},"yoast_head":"\n