The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has rolled out the Women Entrepreneurship (WE) Finance Code, an international collaborative program aimed at increasing the number of financial institutions around the world that disclose their level of funding to Women Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (WMSMEs).
The program also seeks to create incentives, transparency, and accountability to close the gender gap and contribute to the economic empowerment and resilience of women globally in a systematic and high-impact way.
The Women Entrepreneurship (WE) Finance Code is an international collaborative partnership designed to close global financing gaps for women entrepreneurs. The Code was launched by the World Bank Group in 2023 and was formed through the collaboration of 14 governments and 8 multilateral development agencies, including the World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), GIZ, EBRD, and IsDB, among others.
Currently, regulators and central banks from 18 countries have signed and launched the Code in collaboration with their technical partners, including the UK, Egypt (EBRD), Sri Lanka & Fiji (ADB), Indonesia (IsDB), Nigeria (WB), Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan (EBRD).
Pakistan signed the Code in February 2025, with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) serving as the WE Finance Code Anchor for the industry. In Pakistan’s case, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the technical partner, with support from national and international Code consultants.
As the signatory and champion of the WE Finance Code implementation in Pakistan, SBP will be able to rally stakeholders to address persistent gaps in WMSME financing and support Pakistan’s banking industry through public-private coalitions in various targeted areas of intervention. By signing onto the WE Finance Code, banks can position themselves as leaders in promoting women’s economic empowerment in Pakistan and benefit from new business opportunities and better risk diversification.
The WE Finance Code Champion’s network offers a data-driven, multi-stakeholder platform for increasing access to financing for WMSMEs, fostering collaboration, and creating opportunities to synergize sector goals. The adoption of the WE Finance Code will promote harmonization and standardization of definitions and documentation, leading to consistent and effective approaches to supporting women entrepreneurs.
According to the SBP website, expanding financial services to women customers may increase banking revenues for Pakistan’s financial service providers (FSPs) by $650 million.
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