Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance (AIM) provides interest-free loans to people who wouldn’t normally be able to access loans through traditional financial institutions like banks. Our Housing Loan helps poor home-owners who want to improve their houses, but cannot afford to do so. We provide financing for renovation and upgrading, as well as for the construction of rooms and bathrooms, roofs, walls, or whatever else people need to make their homes more liveable. To date, we have helped thousands of families improve their homes.
Here’s how it works: Under this scheme, needy and deserving families are provided with Shariah-compliant financial assistance. Interest-free loans up to PKR 500 000 (half a million Pakistani rupees) are given to families who own the land that their homes are on. They can repay the original amount in monthly instalments over 13-60 months.
Akhuwat gives precedence to widows and households with a monthly income of less than PKR 40 000. To qualify, applicants need to tick the following boxes:
- Be a Pakistani national.
- Be up to 60 years in age.
- Provide proof of ownership of the property.
- Have a monthly income up to PKR 60 000 per month.
- Be residing in an area where there is an Akhuwat branch.
- Have a good credit rating (if applicable) and/or a good moral and social standing in the community.
- Provide two guarantors who are not family members.
Akhuwat has enjoyed incredible success over the years: our repayment rate is at 99.9%! This is in part due to our strict application process, where borrowers have to provide references. But it’s also because of the positive impact of community involvement. We disperse our loans in religious institutions like churches, mosques and temples while the congregation is present. Using these public places ensures transparency, participation and accountability, while also helping to keep down operation costs. And because the community is involved, there is a high rate of compliance and return.