PPAF signs deal for GRASP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) signed a financial agreement with seven partner organizations to implement Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) project, a recent statement said on Saturday.

PPAF, a core partner of International Trade Centre (ITC), implementing the six-year project to reduce poverty in Pakistan by strengthening small scale agribusinesses.

“In two provinces, Balochistan and Sindh, GRASP project aims to uplift Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) by improving business environment, promoting access to finance, and updating policies and laws in 22 districts of both the provinces,” the statement said.

Signing the agreement during a special ceremony held in Islamabad, PPAF CEO Qazi Azmat Isa said efforts of PPAF and ITC were ensuring a transparent and collaborative selection process for taking partner organizations on board.

PPAF Group Head for Institutional Development, Innovation, and Integration Irshad Khan Abbasi welcomed the partner organisations and said the project would spearhead a sustainable change for the SMEs and their associated communities.

He also asserted that the partner organisations need to be adaptive and representative of the local context to ensure onground success of the programme.

GRASP Chief Technical Advisor Dr Tariq Sardar on the occasion said it was a matter of great satisfaction that local and international organisations coming together to uplift the SMEs to promote prosperity in the country.

The partner organizations include Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), Research and Development Foundation (RDF), Taraqee Foundation, Thardeep, Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP), Goth Seengar Foundation, and Sindh Agricultural Forestry Workers and Coordinating Organization(SAFWCO).