HYDERABAD: SAFCO, the Hyderabad-based development and microfinance group, has turned Umrah into a yearly staff benefit, and the first two tickets have gone not to managers but to a head-office driver and a business development officer working in rural Sindh.
Shehzado Noonari, a driver at SAFCO’s head office, and Ashfaq Ali Abro, a business development officer posted in Mehrabpur, were picked through a computerised draw, the organisation said in a statement. Head-office staff watched the draw in person, while employees at branches and field offices followed it online.
Only permanent employees are eligible, and two will be selected every year. SAFCO did not disclose the programme’s budget, when the first pair will travel, or whether the benefit extends to a family member or travel companion.
The cost is not trivial. A full Umrah trip from Pakistan this year typically runs between Rs220,000 and more than Rs500,000 per person, driven mostly by airfare, hotel category and season, according to a 2026 cost guide published by travel platform Wego.
Founder Dr Muhammad Suleman G. Abro presented the scheme as an extension of benefits the group already offers, including healthcare, insurance and a provident fund, and said management was studying further facilities for staff. He did not name them.
Abro also said that, where applicable, arrangements for religious visits would respect the beliefs and sectarian affiliation of the employee selected. The wording leaves room for winners who may prefer a different pilgrimage, though the company did not spell out what alternatives would be offered or how they would be costed.
Managing Director Syed Sajjad Ali Shah said the draw was built to give every permanent employee, from senior management to frontline staff, the same chance, and that the computerised process allowed field workers far from Hyderabad to take part on equal terms. He credited Abro with keeping staff interests at the centre of the organisation’s priorities.
The clearest signal of expansion came from an outside guest. Salman Naqvi, head of channel and pension management at Pak Qatar Group, said the programme would start with two employees a year, with room to raise that number later, and that additional financial facilities for SAFCO staff were under consideration.
Pak Qatar’s presence at the ceremony suggests SAFCO is drawing on outside providers for savings and retirement products, though neither side gave details of any arrangement.
Regional Head Muhammad Shahbaz addressed the gathering, while Bashir Ahmed Abro, Harish Kumar, Rameez Iqbal and Falak Ali used the platform to press staff on financial literacy, regular saving and planning for future needs, arguing that benefits such as the Umrah draw could lift morale and make for a more supportive workplace.
SAFCO grew out of a non-governmental organisation set up in 1986 and now runs SAFCO Microfinance Company, which says it was the first non-banking finance company in Pakistan to offer Islamic financial services. The company received the Global Islamic Finance Award 2025 in Malaysia, and its founder has long been a fixture of Sindh’s development circles; civil society groups have publicly honoured Abro’s work in the past.
Microfinance lenders rely heavily on loan and business development officers like Ashfaq Ali Abro, who recruit borrowers and collect repayments in villages and small towns, and retaining them has become a competitive issue as the industry consolidates. Larger players are also repositioning, with Khushhali Microfinance Bank winning a turnaround award as its parent UBL prepares a Rs22bn capital injection.
Non-wage perks carry extra weight while household budgets remain stretched. Weekly government data in early September showed annual inflation on the Sensitive Price Indicator at 8.35pc, with food and fuel leading the pressure on lower-paid workers.
Before flying, both men will need the paperwork now required of every outbound Pakistani traveller, including the NADRA-issued vaccination certificate made mandatory for international travel from Sept 14. Demand for pilgrimage travel is running high, with private Hajj packages for 2027 already live on the government portal ahead of a Nov. 20 booking deadline.
Both winners thanked SAFCO’s leadership for the opportunity, the organisation said.
Whether the programme grows beyond two seats a year, and how quickly, will depend on the facilities the group and its partners are still weighing. SAFCO has given no timeline.
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