ISLAMABAD: Kashf Foundation has won UNDP Pakistan’s Insurance Innovation Challenge, paving the way for the launch of a Shariah-compliant micro-pension product for low-income women entrepreneurs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, UNDP Pakistan said on Tuesday.

The product, called Khushal Mustaqbil Takaful (KMT), is designed to address a major social protection gap in Pakistan’s informal economy, where only around 10-12% of the labor force has pension coverage.

According to UNDP, the scheme will offer flexible contribution options, emergency access to funds, and incidental insurance coverage for participants’ families.

“KMT will help low-income, women-led businesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by strengthening their ability to withstand economic and climate shocks,” said Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan, Samuel Rizk.

The initiative will be implemented in partnership with Jubilee Life Insurance and will be launched across 10 districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2026, the program plans to reach 39,000 women through financial awareness sessions and enroll 15,000 women in the insurance policy.

It will focus on long-term savings, family risk protection, and financial awareness for underserved women working in informal livelihoods.

Lessons from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rollout will be used to assess the model’s scalability and possible expansion to other regions.

UNDP said the program is being supported through its Insurance and Risk Finance Facility, which backs innovation challenges in 23 countries.

This is the first time the agency has convened an innovation challenge in disaster risk finance and insurance in Pakistan.

Articles tagged with "Women Empowerment"

Kashf Foundation wins UNDP Pakistan’s insurance innovation challenge