Opinion 
 

Opinion

Achieving Financial Independence

The BISP Rural Women Sales Program has helped Nestle Pakistan to empower rural women via skills and jobs that bring them to financial autonomy.

By Syed Zain Akhter | November 2022

In Pakistan, the rural sector accounts for 63% of the population, or 145 million people. Despite making up 22.7% of the country's GDP, this sector's contributions, particularly those of rural women, are frequently disregarded. We often tend to neglect the rural women who are just as dedicated and are involved directly in our nation's agriculture, food safety, and nutrition, when talking about empowered women. Instead, we tend to picture women in positions of authority, such as those in politics, law, business, the media, or academia, but we sometimes underestimate the crucial contributions of rural women like Rehana Bibi, Sajida, Farzana, and innumerable others who serve as critical drivers of development, care for their families, strengthen their communities, and make it possible for them to thrive.

The percentage of rural women who work has increased from 16 to 32 percent during the last 25 years. Sadly, they do not receive the praise they merit. Women have a number of difficulties, such as restricted access to healthcare, education, and credit that may aid in their quest for financial independence. The economic and climate change crises that Pakistan is still experiencing make these problems worse.

The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), established by the Pakistan government in 2008, is one of the largest programmes of its kind in South Asia. The programme aims to empower these women and provides them the means to become financially independent. a social safety net programme that provides over 6 million participants with a quarterly unconditional cash payment of about PKR 7,000.

When the BISP programme was first introduced, its goal was to concentrate on rural women’s economic security so that they could provide for their families and themselves. In order to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, No Poverty and Gender Equality, it is committed to focusing on eradicating poverty. From the perspective of financial emancipation, it was crucial to go past quarterly cash transfers and provide women the opportunity to become financially independent by working for themselves and contributing to Pakistan’s productive workforce.

To create the BISP Rural Women Sales Program in 2017, Nestlé Pakistan worked with the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in order to maintain the aim of creating shared value for communities. The initiative gives the most impoverished women employment options so they may become financially independent. As part of this initiative, rural women receive intensive training to become sales agents, giving them the opportunity to start their own businesses and sell goods to local communities for a profit.

More than 1900 BISP recipients have been engaged in this programme as sales agents to date, and some have opened their own little food stores in rural regions. The company’s dedication to the Sustainable Development Objectives (SDGs) 3: excellent health and well-being, 5: gender equality, 8: decent employment and economic development, and 17: partnerships for the goal, is shown in these initiatives.

The company also partnered with Akhuwat Pakistan (the largest interest-free microfinance programme), whereby, improving access to finance, microloans worth PKR 2 million as revolving credit (to maximise its impact and benefit) were distributed to many women looking to scale their businesses. Keeping in mind the importance of successful partnerships to create a larger impact and leveraging niches of different organisations. Sales representatives of this programme have therefore been allowed to establish independent businesses in local villages.

“Programs to end poverty for the poorest of the poor are most successful when they are combined with upskilling rural communities to enter the workforce. We believe in Creating Shared Value (CSV) for the communities in which it works and lives as part of its global and local commitments”, said Waqar Ahmad, Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability at Nestlé Pakistan, “The BISP Rural Women Sales Program helps us accomplish that by empowering rural women via skills and jobs that bring them to financial autonomy.”

“We are delighted with our collaboration”, stated Dr. Amjad Saqib, founder and chairman of Akhuwat, “This cooperation is helping rural women to start their own businesses, progressively expand them, and finally escape poverty.

Beyond words and figures, this intervention has a profound impact on rural women and their lives. Here are some examples of women who have benefited from this programme.


Blessing in disguise
Rehana Bibi relied on her husband’s salary before Covid-19, who earned a pittance as a daily wage worker. Even though supporting a family on one source of income was difficult, Rehana felt that this was the norm. She had not seen any variations. However, the pandemic made matters worse. She and her husband were living on a daily paycheck until her husband lost his job, making it difficult to pay for basic expenses like food and housing.

Rehana’s husband had been looking for job for a long time without luck, so she made the decision to act. Fortunately, the BISP Rural Women Sales Program team visited Pindi Bhattian and met with women to inform them about how they can become a part of the programme, becomes a saleswomen at one of the 11 shops in the village, and achieve financial independence. This happened when Rehana was searching for options and was in the greatest need. Rehana had a problem in adopting this action because she had never worked in her life. “I started working because I needed to provide for my family. I work at the business for three to four hours every day, making enough money to maintain my family.”

Rehana started working because her husband lost his job, but it’s commendable that this new lifestyle has motivated her to keep working. Working women not only improve their own quality of life, but also that of their families and communities.

Two heads are better than one
Family support on one income is difficult in today’s world of growing inflation, let alone in rural areas where salaries are extremely low and households frequently have more members. When it became hard for Farzana Kausar to support her family solely on her husband’s salary, she encountered a similar problem in Renala Khurd. She wanted to offer her kids a better life since she was a mother. She wanted to provide for them financially so they could eat better meals and go to better schools. That’s when she got in touch with the business and applied for a loan from Akhuwat to start a small food store in her community.

“The neighbourhood started using our store when I launched it. Fortunately, I make roughly PKR 30,000 each year and save money that benefits my family,” explained Farzana.

Although it may not seem like much to some, for her, it has had a profound impact on her life. Her biggest achievement since she started working is that she got her daughter married and assumed responsibility for those expenditures, so she no longer has to worry about how to feed and nurture her children.

The other children of Farzana now attend a better school and live in better housing. She has set a fantastic example for her community by demonstrating the role women can play in assisting families to enjoy better lives, in addition to enabling her to become a supportive and active spouse to her husband.

Determining your financial independence in spite of hardship
When Sajida Jafer’s husband was told he had a heart condition and was no longer able to work, she had four kids to support. She had a lot on her plate already dealing with her husband’s abrupt sickness, but now she also had to take financial control of her family. She had to become the family’s only provider overnight. That is when Sajida made the decision to start a sales firm, and following numerous initial difficulties, she was contacted by the business, which assisted her in obtaining a loan from Akhuwat.

After that, Sajida opened a store in Ahmed Colony of Renala Khurd where she sells groceries for daily use, including milk, juice, and water. Gradually, her sales rose, and she started to prosper enough to cover the family’s expenses.
She said, “I now have a reasonable income, and my kids attend nice schools.” Not only are Sajida’s efforts assisting her in raising her family, but they also provide her the ability to think ahead to a brighter future for her kids. She sets an example for her girls by sending them to better schools in the hope that they would lead better lives. Sajida continued, “Women must work and contribute to the family’s income for a better future.”

Here’s to a brighter future

The relationship between Nestlé and BISP, which now spans 25 districts in Punjab and Sindh, will complete five years in 2022. The initiative will be extended to more districts across the nation in the coming years, including Haripur, Abbottabad, and Mansehra in the North, Hyderabad in the South, and Sialkot, Jehlum, and Narowal in Punjab. More rural women from the most impoverished families will become financially independent, thanks to this development.

The initiative shows how public-private partnerships may work to eradicate poverty, increase chances for livelihood, and empower women for broader societal uplift. While historically rural women may not be able to engage in structured economic activities, this intervention enables women to enter the retail industry, open doors for economic empowerment, and become active members of their families and communities. Additionally, it makes fortified nutritional food accessible and inexpensive in rural Pakistan, which faces the same problems with malnutrition in young children, adolescents, and adults.

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