IFC and SECP Host Second ESG Awareness Workshop in Karachi
Caption: Oct 22, 2025, Karachi, Pakistan, Marriott Hotel. Speakers’ names from left to right: Maha Qasim, Chief Executive Officer, Zeropoint Partners; Musarat Jabeen, Executive Director, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP); Farrukh Rehman, Former President and current Council Member, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP); Shafaq Fauzil Azim, President and Chief Executive Officer, Pakistan Institute of Corporate Governance (PICG); Wajih Zaman, Head - Operational Risk, Credit Risk Review, Green Banking, ESG & BCM, Soneri Bank Limited; Mohsin Ali Chaudhry, IFC ESG Advisory Lead for Pakistan
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) jointly hosted their second Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Awareness Workshop in Karachi, bringing together representatives from listed companies, banks, capital market institutions, and professional associations. The event underscored the growing importance of sustainability, transparency, and corporate accountability in Pakistan’s business and financial sectors.
The workshop is part of IFC and SECP’s ongoing collaboration to advance sustainable finance and ESG adoption in Pakistan through stakeholder engagement and capacity building. The initiative supports companies and financial institutions in understanding emerging sustainability disclosure expectations and integrating sustainability considerations into governance and decision-making processes.
IFC Beyond the Balance Sheet Program Lead, Ralitza Germanova, presented on “Global ESG Standards – IFRS, CSRD, and GRI.” She highlighted key global trends shaping sustainability and climate-related disclosures and discussed the importance of internationally consistent reporting to enhance comparability while meeting local requirements. Ralitza also shared insights on how alignment with frameworks such as IFRS S1 and S2 and the EU’s CSRD can strengthen market transparency and investor confidence.
Caption: presenting online from DC Ralitza Germanova, IFC Beyond the Balance Sheet Program Lead
The ESG Pakistan project is implemented under the Facility for Investment Climate Advisory Services (FIAS), which supports World Bank Group efforts to foster open and competitive markets and mobilize private investment in growth-driven sectors. The project also receives funding from CIFPAK, a climate-related blended finance program managed by IFC in partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
“These workshops build awareness and capacity to improve ESG standards in Pakistan’s corporate and financial sectors. UK support is strengthening transparency, sustainability, and climate resilience, helping to unlock private climate finance. Through the UK-IFC Climate Investment Fund Pakistan programme, we are enabling better climate-smart investments that blend together public and private finance, delivering growth whilst enhancing climate resilience,”
— British High Commission in Pakistan
By promoting stronger ESG practices, the IFC-SECP partnership contributes to building a more resilient and sustainable private sector, aligned with global sustainability disclosure standards and climate-finance objectives.