Damen Support Program celebrated International Poverty Eradication Day and International Rural Women’s Day on October 25 at Ittehad Palace, bringing together over 250 participants, including board members, representatives from peer and donor organizations, and DSP’s Head Office and field staff.
The event commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by the National Anthem and a welcome address by Mr. Asghar Memon, CEO-DSP. The program featured panel discussions with rural women, success stories of DSP clients who expanded their enterprises with DSP’s support, and a theatre performance highlighting the pivotal role of rural women in fostering prosperity and reducing poverty. Distinguished guests, including Ms. Bushra Khaliq, Executive Director, Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE), and Ms. Resham Adnan, Programme Coordinator South Asia Partnership Pakistan, shared their insights on women’s empowerment and inclusive development.
n recognition of exceptional performance, gifts were presented to DSP clients for enhancing their businesses with DSP’s support and achieving success. Shields were awarded to champion branches of the quarter, and certificates were distributed among the top ten female performers in PAMS for 2024–25. DSP extended heartfelt gratitude to Ms. Naghma Rashid, Founder and Chairperson, for her presence and continued guidance. The event reflected DSP’s unwavering commitment to financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, and sustainable poverty reduction.
DSP’s celebration of International Poverty Eradication Day and International Rural Women’s Day became even more memorable with the announcement of the Champion Branch Awards for the Quarter July to September 2025.
Maraka, Jamber, Phoolnagar, Muslim Town, Daska, Nankana, Rajana, and Chunian branches were recognized as Champion Branches of the Quarter. Shields were presented to the Field Managers of these branches by Ms. Naghma Rashid, Chairperson-DSP, Mr. Asghar Ali Memon, CEO-DSP, and Mr. Athmar Ali Arbab, COO-DSP, who commended their dedication and consistent performance. With respect to the event, it is worth mentioning that the Field Managers of six Champion Branches were female, making this recognition even more meaningful in connection with the celebration of International Rural Women’s Day.
Congratulations to all the winners for setting a high standard of excellence and teamwork.
DSP is pleased to host Ms. Sylvie Gal, Regional Head, South Asia and South East Asia, and Mr. Luigi Gioscia from Triple Jump during their visit to Lahore. The meeting provided an excellent opportunity to connect in person, share organizational updates, and discuss ongoing collaboration. The discussion also focused on exploring potential joint ventures and future collaboration opportunities between DSP and Triple Jump to strengthen financial inclusion initiatives and enhance sectoral impact. DSP extends its sincere appreciation to the Triple Jump team for their continued partnership and support.
The CEO- DSP, Mr. Asghar Memon, and his team met with Mr. Kunal Vidhani, Investment Officer at Agents for Impact (AFI) GmbH, during the 9th Annual Microfinance Conference in Karachi.
During the meeting, Mr. Kunal was briefed about the activities undertaken & achievements made by DSP in terms of impact and financial results. Mr. Kunal elaborated on the objectives of the AFI company and the investment they have undertaken for the sector so far. Mr. Kunal expressed his interest in establishing a credit relationship with DSP to achieve common goals. Both parties expressed their willingness to share further information to secure a funding deal.
CEO DSP, Mr. Asghar Ali Memon, shared his insights during the panel discussion at the 9th AMC organized by PMN, highlighting key trends and challenges in women’s financial inclusion. He noted that while the sector continues to expand, most of the growth is driven by nano loans — which often do not reach women in rural or small town areas. The share of MFIs in the total portfolio has declined to around 20%, yet more than 80% of their lending continues to support women. Despite their proven capability, limited access to funding remains a major constraint for MFIs.
At DAMEN, we’re proud that 100% of our clients are women. In many parts of Punjab, women still have limited access to smart phones or digital apps. That’s why, along with lending, we invest in financial literacy and digital awareness to build confidence and capability. Our recoveries are now fully digitized through branchless banking, and we are launching a client app to provide real-time loan and repayment information — another step toward promoting digital inclusion. We also design tailored products such as our ‘Partnership Loan’, which allows women to collaborate with family members, and we offer life, health, and livestock insurance along with skills training to strengthen resilience and self-reliance.
For us, true financial inclusion goes beyond access to credit. It’s about empowering women with the knowledge, confidence, and tools they need to achieve lasting financial independence.
Damen Support Programme, together with its staff, stands firmly with communities affected by the recent floods. Staff members donated one day’s salary and DSP added its own contribution, enabling the first phase of relief. In this phase, food rations were distributed to 300 DSP clients across Chung branch (District Lahore), Morkhunda branch (District Nankana), Daska, Sambrial, and Sialkot branches (District Sialkot), Wazirabad branch (District Wazirabad), Haveli Lakha (District Okara), and Kamalia (District Toba Tek Singh).
The honorable CEO, Mr. Asghar Ali Memon, personally visited the flood-affected area of Theme Park to assess the damage and distribute rations among clients of the Chung branch. Head Office and field staff also participated in the activity, underscoring DSP’s commitment to standing beside its clients in times of crisis. As the second phase of support, DSP will provide financial assistance to help clients rebuild and restore the businesses they lost in these floods.
We honored our top performers from South Region for the months of Aug & Sep 2023 respectively for their exceptional dedication and outstanding contributions to our team's success. Souvenirs and certificates were presented to acknowledge their hard work and commitment. Awardees set a shining example for their colleagues and encouraged a culture of excellence. The event brought our team closer together, fostering a sense of pride and accomplishment. We look forward to even greater achievements in the future, thanks to the dedication of our outstanding team members.
Khaqan Muhammad Khan, Global Head Financial Institutions and Remittance Business – HBL, Dr. Sonu Khangharani, CEO – Thardeep Microfinance Foundation and Musharraf Khan, CEO – Damen Support Program signed the agreement. Senior officials from all three organizations were also present on the occasion.
The signing ceremony took place at Damen Support Programme's Head Offices between Mohsin Ahmed CEO Munsalik Digital & Mr. Musharraf Mahmood Khan CEO Damen Support Programme.
The Annual Microfinance Conference 2021 was held by Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) under the theme of 'Navigating Financial-Inclusion in the Post-Pandemic Era'.
Ms. Naghma Rashid (Founder of Damen Support Programme) was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her valued contributions spanning over 25 years for social and economic uplift of the marginalized, with a focus on women, to enhance their economic prosperity & self-reliance through financial inclusion & capacity building. Mr. Shaukat Tareen-Federal Minister Finance, Mr. Raza Baqir, Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Mr. Amir Khan-Chaiman Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Mr. Ghalib Nishtar-Chairperson Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN), applauded her stewardship.
Damen Support Programme in collaboration with ASK Consulting & Training organized a 2-Days training on SECP Compliance with Special Focus on Anti-Money Laundering & Countering Finance of Terrorism (AML/CFT), on 29th and 30th June 2021 at DSP’s Head Office. Mr. Agha Saeed Khan from ASK Consulting & Training delivered the training to a total of 14 participants. Mr. Musharraf Khan, CEO-DSP, and Mr. Agha Saeed Khan (Consultant - ASK Consulting & Training) distributed certificates among the participants at the end of the session.
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License of investment finance services granted to Damen Support Programme by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
View Certificate: NBFC License of Damen Support Programme (DSP)
PMN in partnership with ICMA Pakistan and Buildstone Consulting Group (BCG) held a “Directors Training Programme” in the month of July 2019. This was a 5-day training program attended by 5 members of DSP including Ms. Naghma Rasheed -CEO, Mr. Pervez Hamid –COO, Mr. Mohd. Rizwan –CFO, Mr. Shahid Waqar- director and Ms. Zareen Niazi- director. This was a SECP approved training program where participants who will qualify will be included in approved directors list of SECP.
The program covered Board composition, Committees n responsibilities, Governance, Risk Management and Compliance issue, Financial reporting, interpretation of financial State, Corporate reporting , Taxation , OECD, Public Procurement Rules Corporate Governance Standards etc.
