The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has joined forces with Kashf Foundation to introduce Khushal Mustaqbil Takaful (KMT), a Shariah-compliant micro pension aimed at low-income women entrepreneurs across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The initiative is being delivered in partnership with Jubilee Life Insurance to tailor financial protection to women working in the informal economy.
With only 10 to 12 percent of Pakistan’s labour force covered by pensions, most low-income women lack access to basic financial protection. The KMT micro pension is designed to bridge that gap by offering flexible contribution tiers, emergency access to funds and incidental insurance cover for families, all structured around the realities of informal livelihoods.
The programme is supported by UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility (IRFF), which is backing innovation challenges in 23 countries. This marks the first time UNDP has convened an innovation challenge in disaster risk finance and insurance in Pakistan. “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,” said Dr. Samuel Rizk, Resident Representative, UNDP Pakistan.
KMT will be rolled out across ten districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with an ambitious outreach plan: financial awareness sessions targeting 39,000 women and enrolment of 15,000 women into the insurance policy during 2026. Delivered with Jubilee Life Insurance, the micro pension aims to give women a dependable avenue for systematic savings alongside incidental cover for family risks.
“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,” said Ms. Roshaneh Zafar, Founder and Managing Director of Kashf Foundation. UNDP and Kashf expect lessons from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to inform expansion of the micro pension to other regions and to contribute to the evidence base on gender-responsive inclusive insurance.
