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HSBC Amanah, the global Islamic banking division of HSBC group, has entered into a partnership with Islamic Relief, a major international relief and development charity, to offer a pilot Islamic microfinance scheme in Pakistan.

HSBC Amanah will provide funding for Islamic Relief’s microfinance projects in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It will also assist Islamic Relief in developing the Shariah structure for financing models and contracts and providing Islamic finance training to Islamic Relief staff. Islamic Relief will, in turn, manage microfinance projects, identify and screen beneficiaries, set out eligibility criteria, encourage entrepreneurs to come forward with business ideas for investment and provide financial and social reports to HSBC Amanah. 40 percent of the beneficiaries of this project are women and many are widows who are now supporting their entire family through their businesses.