KARACHI, Dec 01 (APP): Sindh Minister for Labour and Social Protection, Saeed Ghani, has stressed the need to empower women by equipping them with digital tools, financial products, and confidence so that they might engage themselves in workforce, manage household resources more effectively, and strengthen their resilience to economic woes and climate-related shocks.
He was speaking at the launch of Digital and Financial Literacy Training (DFLT) programme by Sindh Social Protection Authority (SSPA). Implemented by Sustainable Development Policy Institute, the programme is backed by the European Union and the German Government through GIZ.
Saeed Ghani said the initiative aligns with the Sindh government’s broader vision to empower women not only to survive but to thrive. He said that social protection and labour empowerment are two sides of the same coin, thus expanding access to digital tools, banking channels, and financial capability is essential for women’s socioeconomic mobility. He added that the programme complements Sindh’s landmark policy reforms, including the provincial government’s decision to provide asset ownership to flood-affected women, giving them legal property rights for the first time.
Jeroen Willems, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Pakistan, emphasized that the initiative represents a critical pillar of the EU’s support to adaptive social protection, disaster-risk reduction, and climate resilience. Terming digital and financial literacy a “golden opportunity,” he said the programme would help assess the needs of rural women while incorporating modules on climate awareness, responsible parenting, and nutrition. He said nearly 25,000 women trained earlier had already improved their disaster preparedness and the EU now aims to reach 60,000 women with the help of Sindh government by spring 2026.
SDPI Executive Director Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri said the DFLT initiative embodies a shared resolve to ensure that women especially those in climate-affected communities are not left behind in Pakistan’s digital transformation. Lauding the Sindh government role in setting a strong precedent by providing women property ownership, he noted that such progressive steps can only achieve their full potential when paired with digital and financial literacy.
He said SDPI, GIZ, and SSPA are jointly strengthening this triangle, while SDPI serves as a catalyst.
Meriem El Harouchi, the First Secretary at the EU Delegation to Pakistan, said that when the world is becoming ‘hyper-digitalized’, the marginalized women particularly in rural areas still lack the confidence to use basic phone functions, digital wallets, or financial tools. To train women how to use these technologies will give them a vital cushion against financial and climate-related risks, while also improving gender equality, responsible parenting, and family well-being, she added. She informed that women reinvest nearly 90% of their income into their families and communities, so “digital
financial tools can act as a silver bullet for women’s empowerment, especially for non-banked populations in hard-to-reach areas.”
Irshad Ali Sodhar, the Chief Executive Officer of SSPA, said rural communities in Sindh face significant gaps in both financial and digital literacy, so this initiative is critical to empowering women and strengthening household well-being. He said the programme builds upon earlier successes such as the ‘Mamta Initiative’, which improved maternal
and child nutrition outcomes, and now expands its scope to help women access traditional banking and adopt savings-oriented financial behaviours.
Johanna Knoess, Head of Adaptive Social Protection at GIZ Pakistan, stressed that the DFLT rollout marks a key milestone in strengthening social protection systems that prioritize inclusion, resilience, and gender equity.
A joint technical presentation by Dr Fareeha Armaghan, Research Fellow and Team Lead DFLT Phase-II at SDPI and Frank Schneider, Senior Policy Advisor, GIZ ASP outlined the Phase-II rollout strategy. She highlighted how expanded training modules, community-based approaches, and enhanced digital access would help women shape their economic futures and contribute to Sindh’s inclusive growth. Dr Armaghan informed that the pilot was launched in 13 districts across the country that initiated training demonstrations by master trainers. She added that national level roll out was completed for 0.25 million BISP beneficiaries, whereas 129 districts covered in four major provinces of the country during phase-I of DFLT.
Frank Schneider presented key recommendations and termed the training a methodology and tool of approach for nation building. He added that alone 125,000 Mamta beneficiaries would be targeted in the second phase of the training and reach out agriculture workers, and rural area people that have not been reached so far.
Later, as part of the launch, a Letter of Understanding between SSPA and GIZ was signed by Irshad Ali Sodhar and Johanna Knoess, and witnessed by Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani, who also cut the ribbon to formally inaugurate DFLT Phase II.
