The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has launched the Agriculture Finance Innovation Challenge (AFIC) to foster practical innovation and collaboration to advance climate-smart agriculture finance, and to strengthen financial inclusion in Pakistan’s rural economy.

AFIC seeks to promote the development of bundled agriculture finance solutions that combine credit with technology-enabled services, including digital advisory, climate-smart farming practices, data analytics, risk management tools, and market linkages.

13 microfinance banks and microfinance institutions, and 11 technology companies including agri-tech firms, agricultural service providers and fintech companies, were selected to participate in the challenge, which is being organized under the World Bank-supported Resilient and Accessible Microfinance Program.

As part of the process, SBP organized a Matchmaking Day that enabled participating institutions to explore partnerships through technology showcasing, kiosk engagements, and meetings, in order to assess complementarities, align business objectives, and jointly design solutions that integrate finance and technology around farmers’ needs.

The participating institutions are now developing joint proposals for bundled agriculture finance products. Following evaluation, the top five solutions will be selected for support under the next phase of AFIC, which will focus on product development, piloting, and market deployment.