Koukab Haider

Damen Support Programme

The roots of the Damen Support Programme lie in a non-profit organization (NGO) – Development Action for Mobilization and Emancipation (DAMEN) – set up in 1992, under the Societies Registration Act, XXI of 1860. DAMEN started its operations with the aim of working for alternative development at the grass-root level in Pakistan. DAMEN initially started by focusing on the role and development of women & children in local communities; The programs being run were:  Home School Education Program  Industrial Home for Women  Entrepreneurship Development Program In 1996 DAMEN initiated the microcredit program, to help women foster economic activities in their communities. In 2014, DAMEN transformed its Micro Finance Program into a separate legal entity by the name of the Damen Support Programme (DSP). This step was taken to concentrate on DAMEN's economic sector initiatives, increase focus on financial inclusion, improve transparency, and strengthen access to commercial funds, donors, and investors. DSP is a Non-Banking Microfinance Company, registered under section 42 of the Companies Act 2017, with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). DSP concentrates on the social and economic uplift of communities, with an exclusive focus on the empowerment of women from marginalized communities. Vision: Sustainable development through financial inclusion. Mission: Taking measures for social and economic uplift of the marginalized, with focus on women, to enhance their economic prosperity & self-reliance through financial inclusion & capacity building.