UNDP and Kashf Foundation have partnered to introduce Khushal Mustaqbil Takaful (KMT), a Shariah-compliant micro pension product for low-income women entrepreneurs across ten districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Delivered in partnership with Jubilee Life Insurance, the programme aims to reach 39,000 women through financial awareness sessions and to enrol 15,000 women in the insurance policy during 2026.
Pakistan’s informal workforce remains largely unprotected: only 10 to 12 percent of the labour force has pension coverage, leaving most low-income women without reliable financial protection. Khushal Mustaqbil is designed to close that gap by offering flexible contribution tiers aligned to irregular incomes, emergency access to savings, and incidental insurance coverage for family members, all tailored to the realities of informal livelihoods.
The initiative is supported through UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), which fosters innovation challenges across 23 countries and has convened its first disaster risk finance and insurance innovation in Pakistan. Dr. Samuel Rizk, Resident Representative of UNDP Pakistan, said, “This partnership marks an important step in advancing inclusive insurance in Pakistan. By bringing KMT to low income, women led businesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we are strengthening their ability to withstand economic and climate shocks. Through IRFF, we are also showing how private sector innovation can be scaled to reach those who have long remained outside formal financial protection.”
Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation, added, “When a woman earns, she sustains her family, and when she plans for the future, she transforms it. KMT responds to this need by enabling women to systematically save for the future, offering them dignity, security, and a pathway to financial independence.”
UNDP and Kashf Foundation say Khushal Mustaqbil will demonstrate that meaningful financial protection for underserved women is both achievable and scalable. Lessons from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa rollout are expected to inform expansion to other regions and contribute to an evidence base on how gender-responsive, inclusive insurance can be effectively delivered.
