
Analysis of Financial Sustainability and Outreach: A Case Study of PPAF
This paper examines the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) over ten years, from 2007 to 2016. Secondary data is used to calculate various financial ratios of sustainability and outreach. The analysis is performed from two microfinance approaches, that is the Institutionalists’ Approach and Welfarists’ Approach. Ten indicators are used, including Number of Partner Organizations (PO) and Number of Districts (NOD) as measures of outreach whereas, Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Profit Margin Ratio (PMR), Operational Self Sufficiency (OSS), Debt to Equity Ratio (DER), Financial Expense Ratio (FER), Operating Expense Ratio (OER) and Total Expense Ratio (TER) as measures of financial sustainability of PPAF. This study's findings show that PPAF is financially sustainable with positive PMR 59%, ROE 20%, and ROA 6%. PPAF has a high level of outreach, indicating that it significantly impacts Pakistan's poverty alleviation. It is recommended that more government and international donors funding should be injected in PPAF to support the cause of poverty alleviation in Pakistan.