HBL MfB, Suparco partner to boost agri financing

HBL Microfinance Bank has partnered with the Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, known as Suparco, to widen its Climate-Smart Agri-Financing initiative across Punjab, according to Business Recorder. The move takes a pilot to province-wide scale, using satellite data and technology-based risk checks to serve farmers in a region central to Pakistan's agricultural economy.

The partnership pairs Suparco's remote-sensing and satellite capabilities with the bank's wide field network and farm lending know-how. Under the expanded scope, the bank will use satellite observations, crop monitoring and remote-sensing analytics to assess land use and crop conditions more closely. Business Recorder reported that this is intended to improve the resilience of the bank's agriculture portfolio.

HBL MfB President and CEO Amir Khan said the collaboration brings satellite intelligence into farm lending, so that loan decisions can be made on a more timely basis. Zafar Iqbal, Member (Space Application & Research Wing) at Suparco, said the agency has trained machine learning and deep learning models that produce farm-level insights, which will also be shared publicly through the Space4Climate portal.