Financial Services
The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) invests primarily in emerging economies and in initiatives that create sustainable enterprises and jobs. Its main drivers are access to finance, and economic opportunity.
AKFED’s portfolio of banks, microbanks and insurance companies traces its origins to the cooperative societies and insurance providers established in the 1930s by Aga Khan III to serve communities that had limited access to formal financial services under colonial rule. Jubilee Insurance was founded in East Africa in the 1930s; the antecedents of DCB Bank were established in India in 1930; and the foundations of the DTB Group were laid in East Africa in 1946.
With the launch of the credit and savings programme of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) in 1982, the seeds of microfinance were sown in Pakistan’s Northern Areas. This eventually led to the creation of microfinance banks in Pakistan (2002), Afghanistan (2003) and Tajikistan (2003). Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB) was established in 2001 under AKFED’s leadership, in collaboration with international financial institutions (IFIs), to strengthen the country’s banking system. Soon afterwards, at the request of the Government of Pakistan, AKFED participated in the privatisation programme and acquired a majority stake in HBL.
Sultan Ali Allana, AKFED Director and HBL Chairman
HBL is Pakistan's largest commercial bank, serving more than 40 million customers through over 140,000 touchpoints nationwide.
HBL
HBL, the first commercial bank formed in Pakistan, was privatised by the Government of Pakistan in 2004. AKFED acquired the majority shareholding. HBL is now the largest commercial bank in the country, with a presence in international markets that supports trade with Pakistan.
Through more than 140,000 touchpoints across the country, HBL serves over 40 million customers. In line with AKDN’s values, it also serves unbanked and underbanked customers through microfinance banking, bancassurance and agricultural lending. Through the HBL Foundation, it supports over 10 million people in health and education.
HBL Microfinance Bank serves over 4.5 million customers through 229 locations across Pakistan, including 2.6 million digital wallet users.
HBL Microfinance Bank
AKDN has supported microfinance for more than four decades. The First Microfinance Bank in Pakistan (FMFB-P), now HBL Microfinance Bank (HBL MfB), was established in 2002 with AKFED as the founding shareholder. The bank was created through a structured transformation of the credit and savings section of the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP).
HBL MfB builds its financial and non-financial services around the evolving needs of low-income clients, helping them to grow businesses, savings and assets. In 2016, HBL acquired management control of the bank.
HBL MfB serves over 4.5 million customers, including more than 2.6 million digital wallet users. The bank operates through 229 locations and a network of 133 ATMs nationwide.
DTB's Kitale branch in western Kenya. The bank serves over 4.7 million customers across East Africa through 158 branches, 172 ATMs and 4,746 agents.
Diamond Trust Bank
Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) is a tier-one commercial banking group operating in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Established in 1946 and listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), DTB provides banking and insurance services to retail, SME and corporate customers.
DTB finances SMEs, trade and agriculture across East Africa. Its lending, digital services and training programmes support entrepreneurship and job creation in the region.
DTB serves over 4.7 million customers through 158 branches, 172 ATMs and 4,746 agents across East Africa, supported by digital platforms that extend access in both urban and rural areas.
DCB Bank runs 480 branches across India and serves more than 3.2 million active customers.
DCB
DCB Bank is a new generation private sector bank with 480 branches across India as of June 2026. It is a scheduled commercial bank regulated by the Reserve Bank of India, with more than 3.2 million active customers.
DCB Bank’s business segments are retail, micro-SME, SME, mid-corporate, agriculture, commodities, government, public sector, Indian banks, co-operative banks and non-banking finance companies.
The bank’s branches are situated across Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Daman, Delhi/NCR, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Silvassa, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
KICB staff at an internal meeting. The bank operates in every region of the Kyrgyz Republic, including Customer Service Centres in remote areas.
KICB
Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank CJSC (KICB) offers a full range of banking products across the Kyrgyz Republic. KICB was founded in 2001 in partnership with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic and major international institutions, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the German Development Bank (KfW), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). Its current shareholders include AKFED with 72 percent, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) with 18 percent and the State Agency for Management of State Property under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic holding 10 percent.
KICB operates in every region of the country. It has moved its Osh Centre branch and Tokmok branch into new buildings with upgraded facilities. The bank has also opened Customer Service Centres in remote areas, providing loans and advice on banking services, including digital microcredit products.
ICB Tajikistan reaches urban and rural customers through seven branches and 41 Banking Service Centres, around 60 percent of them rural or semi-urban.
ICB
The Investment and Credit Bank of Tajikistan (ICB Tajikistan), formerly known as “The First MicroFinance Bank”, was established in 2003 following the consolidation of standalone microfinance activities conducted by AKDN agencies in Tajikistan. The bank launched microfinance operations in July 2004 and introduced commercial banking services later that year. In October 2024, it was rebranded as the “Investment and Credit Bank of Tajikistan” (ICB) to reflect its expanded focus on serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and corporates across the country.
ICB operates nationwide, serving both urban and rural customers through a network of seven branches, 41 Banking Service Centres (BSCs) and its operational unit at head office. Approximately 60 percent of its outlets are located in rural and semi-urban areas. In the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), where economic opportunities are limited and financial institutions are scarce, ICB maintains one branch and seven BSCs.
To promote non-cash transactions in rural GBAO, the bank has partnered with OJSC “Pamir Energy”, based in Khorog, as an agent. Through the “Total Access” programme, POS terminals have been deployed to expand digital payment services. This allows people in remote areas to use digital financial services.
Jubilee Holdings is the second-largest insurance group in East Africa, covering over 1.4 million lives in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi.
JHL
Founded in 1937, Jubilee Holdings Limited is part of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and is the second-largest insurance group in East Africa, specialising in health, life and pension insurance.
Jubilee Holdings operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi, offering life and health insurance. The company covers over 1.4 million lives through its branches, agents and digital platforms.
In 2025, Jubilee Holdings and Sanlam Allianz ended a four-year partnership in general insurance, allowing the Group to focus on life and health insurance and asset management.
Alongside its insurance business, Jubilee Asset Management runs investment funds for individuals and institutions, covering retirement planning and long-term wealth management.
The company also supports community programmes. It runs financial literacy programmes, extends insurance to people with little or no cover, and supports environmental projects. Its corporate responsibility work widens access to education and healthcare for children from low-income families. It also insures SMEs and entrepreneurs.
Founded in 1953, Jubilee General Insurance is Pakistan's third-largest general insurer, offering conventional and Takaful cover to individual and corporate clients.
JGI
Established in 1953, Jubilee General Insurance Company Limited is Pakistan's third-largest general insurer. It offers a range of conventional and Takaful products for individual and corporate clients.
Jubilee Life Insurance has insured over 12 million lives in Pakistan, serving 500,000 individual and 4,000 corporate clients.
JLI
Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited was incorporated in Pakistan as a public limited company in 1995 under the name Commercial Union Life Assurance Company (Pakistan) Limited. In 2003, the company was acquired by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and was subsequently renamed New Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited.
In 2011, the “Jubilee Insurance” brand was globally aligned across Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mauritius and Burundi, and the company was accordingly renamed Jubilee Life Insurance Company Limited. In 2015, Jubilee Life commenced Window Takaful Operations to offer Shariah-compliant Takaful products.
JLI has insured over 12 million lives, serving more than 500,000 individual clients and 4,000 corporate clients. As Pakistan’s largest private-sector health insurance provider, JLI offers access to more than 600 healthcare centres nationwide.
JKIC
In 2013, KICB expanded its product line with insurance services through the subsidiary Jubilee Kyrgyz Republic Insurance Company (JKIC). JKIC is now one of the three leaders in the insurance market in the Kyrgyz Republic in terms of collection of insurance premiums and payments.
