A
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●○ medium
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (A). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4AHistory grows each quarter
Kashf Foundation: Lending only to women, and going after the attitudes too. The letter is A; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
In Pakistan it was difficult for a woman to borrow in her own name, or to decide how her earnings were used. In 1995 Roshaneh Zafar left the World Bank and set up a microfinance institution in Lahore that lends only to women.
Lending alone is not enough: that is this organization's position. It bundles household financial management training, business acceleration courses, pension savings, micro-insurance and telehealth. Beyond that it has used gender training, education on sexual and reproductive health, and community theatre to shift how the people around a woman see her earning. It has lent to more than 7.7 million borrowers through 422 branches, and current clients number over a million. A World Bank feature (2025) records that repeat borrowing reduced poverty in at least 40% of client households and that 90% of women reported higher business income. A third-party assessment published in October 2026 found that women who combined a loan with financial management training raised their incomes by 17% and their savings by 34%.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
A third-party assessment published in October 2026 surveyed 2,596 households across 14 districts and found that women who combined a loan with financial management training raised their incomes by 17% and their savings by 34%. Those who took business acceleration training earned 26% more. Of those surveyed, 94.5% said women were more included in household decisions and 83.4% said their families supported their businesses. A World Bank feature (2025) also records that repeat borrowing reduced poverty in at least 40% of client households. Nature of sources: independent (World Bank) plus third-party evaluation.
Source nature: World Bank / Global Affairs Canada / T1 international body / third-party evaluation. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T1 international body / third-party evaluation
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Reliance on funder-linked evaluation
- over-indebtedness and repayment pressure
- difficulty of measuring attitude change
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Expanding financial and non-financial services for women entrepreneurs.
A second look
Much of the measured effect comes from assessments in which funders are involved. The questions that attach to microfinance generally - over-indebtedness and repayment pressure - remain to be tested here too. The effect of work to change attitudes is hard to measure, and short surveys capture only so much.
Sources
+N1World Bank / Global Affairs Canada｜2026｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top