Civil Bank has signed an agreement with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in order to contribute to the government’s initiatives for generating employment opportunities and enabling an environment for safer migration through public private partnerships in migration management. 

The agreement to this effect was signed by CEO of Civil Bank, Kishore Maharjan and Chief of Mission of IOM, Maurizio Busatti. 

IOM aims to impart financial literacy training such as savings, investment, household budgeting and financial management skills to remittance receiving households, while facilitating coordination among financial institutions to extend their outreach to the underserved and rural communities, particularly in places where labour migration is high.

Civil Bank will avail resource persons for the training and conduct specific sessions on banking, financial services and schemes at the community level. The bank will provide technical expertise in jointly researching and developing innovative financial products and services based on the requirements of returnee migrants and remittance receiving households, small enterprises involved in the agriculture and livestock sectors and will pilot new financial products and services within the IOM’s project sites wherever feasible to the bank. 

The bank will make the services available for target groups or clients upon due approval from Nepal Rastra Bank. It will make an effort to develop new products and services that will be marketed to beneficiaries.

“Labour migration is high in Nepal. So, if we are able to show our youths and remittance receiving households the possibilities of employment and provide them financial resources, it will surely help improve their standard of living and also reduce the overall percentage of labour migration,” said Maharjan. He further added that ‘this kind of alliance will further contribute to the country’s economy’.

Prior to this, a similar agreement was also signed between Civil Bank and Blueberry Hill Charitable Trust for providing financial services and access to smallholder farmers and small enterprises in rural districts.

Published on: 10 May 2014 | The Himalayan Times