Pakistan Employment Impact Bond
Why this is important
Human capital constraint is a critical factor for Pakistan’s slow economic growth and low global competitiveness. With over four million youth becoming working-age in Pakistan each year, equipping them with future-ready skills can serve as a powerful driver for economic advancement in the country.
To unlock the potential of Pakistan’s youth through the power of outcomes-based finance, the British Asian Trust, in partnership with the Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) is designing Pakistan’s first Employment Impact Bond.
Project Partners:
Punjab Skills Development Fund (PSDF) - Pakistan’s largest skills development fund - with seed funding secured from the ‘Outcomes Accelerator’ funded by leading donors including FCDO, SECO and UBS Optimus Foundation.
““This partnership with PSDF marks a significant milestone in our efforts to drive employment for the youth of Pakistan. We are excited to bring international expertise to support the local design of the country’s first impact bond for employment. We genuinely believe that this is an opportunity to transform the approach to development finance in Pakistan leading to greater innovation, efficiency and scale.””
What we are doing
The programme will
- Support 15,000-20,000 young people (around 50% of whom will be women) with the skills needed to translate into long-term employment.
- Develop strong employer engagement strategies to ensure skill trainings match the needs of key growth sectors in the economy.
- Support training providers to integrate an outcomes-focused approach to ensure their programmes are more efficient and responsive to market needs.