A BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF FARZ FOUNDATION

The Farz Foundation is a social performance based poverty alleviation organization with a unique and innovative Islamic Microfinance model and business design according to the rules of shariah. It is the organization which has been formed on an ideological foundation with the notion of “partnership with the poor and profit and loss sharing” as its prior investment methodology. The asset based Islamic Microfinance integrated approach is the basic tool of the foundation to get long term sustainability, because the Farz Foundation has a strong belief that the sustainability of the client is the sustainability of the organization. Farz foundation has also convicted to bring social change with poverty alleviation. MURABAHA (Islamic mode of sale and purchase) is the core product of Farz Foundation and FF is operational with this product under the Shariah compliance from 1 Jan,2010. As for as  marginalized poor and destitute are concerning, Farz Foundation provides them “PRODUCTIVE ZAKAH” (donation) and “QARZ-E-HASNA” (interest free loan) to start their businesses after giving them the basic business training and providing them market linkages to make them able to Zakah payer but not Zakah receiver. HEALTH AWARENESS, BUSINESS Education and FARZ COMMITEE are the nonfinancial products of the institution.

 
FARZ FOUNDATION METHODOLOGY
 
FARZ IN MOTION - FARZ VIDEOS
Latest News
Farz Foundation Introduces
a New Product
Farz Foundation has developed a market driven, need based and innovative Product, having very deep cultural roots. The product is known as Committee (Rotating savings) in Pakistan. The people usually build their assets by this rotating saving activity at a street or a market level informally and without any proper book keeping. How ever Farz Foundation not only makes it formal but uses as other source of income by providing the service of investment in Murabaha as a partner.
Farz Foundation in Pakistan proposes this partnership concept based approach to encourage communal savings and profitability to sustain its clients. Members of the committee have regular meetings in order to save and borrow from a communal pool of money.
 
Farz Foundation and Akhuwat signed MOU to work jointly on Islamic microfinance

Lahore based Farz Foundation and Akhuwat, microfinance organizations provide services on the principles of Islamic microfinance have signed a MOU for the provision of Sharia compliant Islamic microfinance facilities in Lahore. Akhuwat will provide initial fund as Qarz e Hasna (Without charging any profit or markup) and Farz Foundation for its Sharia compliant microfinance product Murabaha. 
Akhuwat will initially provide PAR 100000 (approx USD 1200) interest free loan per month to Farz Foundation to fund its Murabina product for a period of three months starting from 27th of February 2010.

 
Farz Foundation & Pak-Qatar Family Takaful reach life-saving accord
Farz Foundation has reached an accord with Pak-Qatar Family Takaful (Ltd) to provide life insurance, offering cover against risk to life.
According to Farz Foundation CEO Farhat Abbas Shah, the Pak-Qatar Family Takaful has made this type of agreement at the microfinance level for the first time. He said, both the organizations have set this milestone in the Islamic microfinance sector of Pakistan.
The foundation with the vision of bringing social change through poverty alleviation by improving productivity and capacity of clients and staff has set its mission as empowering the poor through innovative products and diverse business opportunities, by integrating social performance focused microfinance with collaborative community health and education partnerships.
Articles
The Methodologies and Products of Microfinance both need refinement
By Farhat Abbas Shah

If a product could not provide the solution to the purchaser against the price, how long it can stay in the market? No doubt the products of microfinance were need based, however they could not fulfill the actual objective of poverty alleviation as per the expectation. Although the cash based products fulfill the immediate need of the clients, but they cannot find the real solution to poverty. It goes against the vision and mission of the business. The productive loans proved unproductive at the end, that’s why crisis took place and the bubble market was created.

Reinventing microfinance
in Pakistan
By Farhat Abbas Shah
Poverty certainly emerged as the single most problem that lies at the heart of modern day crisis. It quite recently has assumed alarming proportions.
Rejoinder to Ruth David’s piece on Microfinance
By Farhat Abbas Shah
Like any other sector microfinance is also going through difficult times. Ruth David in one of her articles ‘Worrying Signs in India’s Microfinance Boom’ published in Business week reveals, on 17th of June 2010.
Farz Methodology: Making it big through scarce means
By Farhat Abbas Shah
Achieving financial goals in such trying times is no mean business. Farz Foundation took up the task of fighting poverty when the microfinance world was giving in to one of the most unique and deep sustainability crisis. Much to our amazement, the initial outcome was quite encouraging.
Need of the day:    
bridging development and microfinance
By Farhat Abbas Shah
Results are always the best yardstick to measure the affectivity of any endeavor. It is not a matter of blame game or trading charges. To fight poverty all over the world requires stock taking of all the efforts made so far.
REVITALIZING MICROFINANCE
By Farhat Abbas Shah
The greatest dilemma of the twenty first century is translation of growth rates into the welfare of common man. For example India is considered to be a healthier economy even during this one of the deepest recession in history.
A word on CGAP’s Report
By Farhat Abbas Shah
We all know a success has many fathers and failure remains orphan. Crisis does come, and when they come, the best strategy always is to identify the factors contributing to it so that the past mistakes are not repeated, and the best remedies could be offered.
New partnerships in microfinance
By Farhat Abbas Shah
Despite colossal efforts, the poverty has emerged as the single most problem in the contemporary world. Microfinance has been one of the major tools to fight it, but it still needs restructuring, particularly, in the wake of the worst recessions in the history of prevalent economic structures. This situation also requires us once again to look at all the efforts done thus far and to achieve the noble goal of reducing poverty to the possible extent.
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