Funders Profile

FUNDERS PROFILE

Karandaaz Pakistan

Karandaaz Pakistan, established in 2014, is promoting access to finance for small businesses through commercially directed investments and financial inclusion for individuals. It manages the Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF) providing risk capital and grants to partners with an aim to generate innovative yet practicable solutions for solving complex problems in areas of financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. The fund is especially focused on addressing persisting barriers faced by SMEs, women and youth in accessing appropriate financial services and participating in the economy.

Insitor Impact Asia Fund

Insitor invests venture capital funding into startups throughout emerging and frontier Asian markets. Founded in 2009, Insitor has developed an expertise in market intelligence and investment acumen specific to this region. It invests in earlystage companies that demonstrate clear competitive advantages and the potential to positively influence their respective industries. It helps build marketplaces for low-income consumers, producers, and workers in a variety of sectors, including healthcare, education, affordable housing, financial inclusion, water/sanitation, agriculture, and off-grid energy.

Cresventures

CresVentures is an Angel Capital firm in Pakistan. It connect entrepreneurs with resources to kick-start the next big idea. Through extensive market research and a hands-on mentoring experience, it attempts to be the game changer for startups in Pakistan.

Fatima Ventures

Fatima Ventures is an early stage investment fund investing in scalable tech companies. It invests in passionate, creative and visionary founders. Fatima Ventures believe that a great idea needs successful execution. It forms long-term partnerships to help our founders execute
and build companies of the future.

Health and Nutrition Innovation Fund

The Health and Nutrition Innovation Fund (HANIF) aims to increase demand, accountability and supply of quality services in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH) and Nutrition. HANIF is a grant fund that aims to foster and promote simple innovations that benefit poor women and children by funding ideas that will result in long term impact. HANIF is a subcomponent of the Empowerment, Voice and Accountability for Better Health and Nutrition (EVA-BHN) programme. Through HANIF, EVA-BHN will seek out initiatives with potential for sustainable models through a blend of competitive open calls for proposals and solicited grants.

Asian Development Bank

ADB helps address Pakistan’s development needs for energy, transport, agriculture, natural resources, rural development, water supply, urban infrastructure and services, public sector management, and finance. Through investments and policy reforms, ADB will also help address Pakistan’s energy sector needs during 2017–2019. The ADB country operations business plan, 2017–2019 outlines assistance to develop transport connectivity and economic corridors, better manage water resources and irrigation, promote urban services, and support disaster risk management.

10xC Seed Fund

10xC promotes financial inclusion in Pakistan through growth investments in technology startups. It provides seed funding, advice and shared services to entrepreneurs working on ideas or concepts towards validation of product/market fit. 10xC makes investments into a large group of ideas or existing startups for equity and also invests in follow-up rounds.

Global Environment Facility – Small Grants Program, United Nations Development Program

The Global Environment Facility – Small Grants Program (GEF-SGF) embodies the very essence of sustainable development by “thinking globally – acting locally”. By providing financial and technical support to projects that conserve and restore the environment while enhancing people’s well-being and livelihoods,-GEF_SGP demonstrates that community action can maintain the fine balance between human needs and environmental imperatives.

Ambassador’s Fund Grant Program

The purpose of the AFGP is to award grants in order to improve the economic and social conditions of the people of Pakistan. The AFGP will support highimpact activities focused on priority areas identified by the United States Ambassador to Pakistan. The Ambassador’s Fund Grant Program (AFGP) is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by the Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA).

Department for International Development

Department for International Development (DFID) Pakistan is helping to ensure a prosperous and stable Pakistan that is critical for the future of millions of poor Pakistanis, and the stability and security of both this region and the UK. UK continue to help Pakistan to improve its basic services, reduce poverty, and promote equality as it transitions to a prosperous and stable country. DFID/Pakistan is also helping to improve the investment climate in Pakistan, supporting the economy to grow, and creating better conditions for UK companies to invest and trade.

United Nations Development Program

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) assists in building capacity for good governance, popular phenomena, public and private sector development. UNDP mission is to help countries in their efforts to achieve sustainable human development by assisting them to build their capacity to decide and carry out programme in poverty eradication, employment creation and sustainable livelihoods, empowerment of women and the protection and regeneration of environment.

The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit, nongovernment grant making organization committed to development of a peaceful, prosperous and open Asia Pacific region. The foundation supports program in Asia that help improve governance and law, economic reforms and development, women’s participation and international relations. The foundation gives priority to strengthening leadership and the capacity of local organizations as well as improving public policy. Foundation grants are given for education and technical training, technical assistance exchange policy research, and educational materials.

Trust for Voluntary Organizations

The Trust for Voluntary Organizations (TVO) was created as an indigenous grantmaking organization in 1990 following an agreement between the Governments of Pakistan and the United States of America to establish a Special Development Fund (SDF). TVO was set up to tap the potential of non-government organizations (NGOs). The purpose was to aid them in the development process and develop a mechanism for strengthening the contribution of NGOs towards a broader goal of improving the quality of life of the neglected segments of Pakistani population. The bottom-up working of NGOs meant that they could reach the people who most needed help and the funds would reach those who needed them the most.

The Micro-Project Scheme, German Embassy, Pakistan

The German Embassy´s “Micro-ProjectScheme” has been set up in 1980 to support the underprivileged groups of society (e.g. committees, associations, welfare societies, schools, kindergartens etc.) to improve their social and economic situation through “self-help” projects. The Consulate General of Germany in Karachi provides grants to small scale projects (Micro Projects) in Sindh and Balochistan with funds of the German Foreign Office every year. The projects have to be sustainable and must provide social and/or economic support to underprivileged groups in the society.

Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects, Japan Embassy, Pakistan

As part of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) to developing countries, the Government of Japan offers a Programme to support non governmental organizations (NGOs) and community based organizations (CBOs) that are working specifically in the social development sector. Known as the GGP (Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects), it provides flexible and timely support to small-scale development projects, which aim to improve the social well-being of the people at the grassroots level.

The Norwegian Human Rights Fund

The Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF) works to protect and promote human rights internationally through direct support to organisations working in the first line of defense for human rights. The NHRF aims to be a flexible, courageous and global actor that provides direct support to local organizations working for the rights of vulnerable and marginalised individuals and groups. Established as a flexible donor, the NHRF has been able to take risks and support nascent initiatives which are targeted and smart, without intermediary links or time-consuming procedures.

Canada Fund for Local Initiatives

The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) funds small but visible, high impact, results-oriented projects that are proposed and implemented by local NGOs and other grassroots organizations. CFLI is a responsive, flexible program. This enables Canada to respond to local needs by working at the community level.

Concern Worldwide RAPID Fund

Through the RAPID Fund Programme, Concern provides grants to national and international NGOs who are responding to the humanitarian needs of disaster affected populations in Pakistan. This programme aims to target 3,079,762 individuals over a six year period. The RAPID Fund supports humanitarian responses in the sectors of shelter/nonfood items, WASH, early recovery and market strengthening, agriculture and humanitarian coordination.

Global Fund for Women

Global Fund for Women’s primary goal is to get resources to organizations led by women, girls, and trans people. They support organizations led by historically marginalized groups who are working to build strong, connected movements for gender equality and human rights. As funders, their goal is to provide resources that strengthen the agency, participation, and power of local organizations working directly in their communities. They provide flexible, core-support grants for operating and program expenses, give multi-year grants as often as possible, and offer travel and event organizing grants to support knowledge-exchanges and convenings. Global Fund for Women also provides immediate support to organizations who are first responders in times of natural and human-made crises.

Concern Worldwide RAPID Fund

The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is the leading institution focused on eliminating poverty in Pakistan. As one of the largest establishments spending on the poor, PPAF facilitates public private partnerships that have a mutual goal to achieve social and economic change in Pakistan by addressing the multi-dimensional issues of poverty. The principal objective of the PPAF Funded Projects is to intervene in areas affected either by natural disasters or conflicts. Under the PPAF Funded Projects resources are mobilized from different sources, funding is channelized towards areas where PPAF grant based interventions have not yet been initiated.

Acumen Pakistan

Acumen is a non-profit impact investment fund with almost 15 years’ experience in small and medium-sized enterprises that serve low-income communities in developing countries primarily in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Acumen Fund connects philanthropists with organizations that are developing innovative and sustainable solutions to social problems. It brings together the resources, ideas, and people needed for these organizations to create long-term, measurable impact.

Ashoka – Pakistan

Ashoka is a global organization that identifies and invests in individuals with innovative and practical ideas for solving social problems. Ashoka has pioneered the fields of social entrepreneurship and made great strides in committing the world to framework change since its founding in 1980. Ashoka is identifying emerging opportunities to solve critical problems through widespread systemic change. It does this by helping entrepreneurs work with each other, and with partners in business, government, academia, and other influential institutions to draw on and demonstrate the power of collaborative entrepreneurship.

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