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FINCON’s “Micro Health Franchise System” has won the seed grant for its innovative approach towards saving lives at birth. This is indeed a big achievement for FINCON in terms of competing with the world’s top 77 innovative ideas.

Saving Lives at Birth

Our Idea revolves around empowering community midwife worker in providing high quality and cost effective healthcare services to mother and child in poor communities; at their door steps. Micro Health Franchise system also provides entrepreneurial support to the community midwife worker that leads to the standardization of services, access to financial services and having support by an efficient referral network that can respond to emergencies in a proactive manner.

At the core of this solution lies the Telehealth module. It is designed keeping in view the advantages of service oriented architecture and provides the Web( Electronic Medical Record), SMS (Short Text Messaging System) and data services (MMS, GPRS) to share and communicate through HL7 standards between community midwife workers and medical specialists at referral center.

To learn more about FINCON’s Information Technology Department (FINBYTE) Click Here.

Its a great achievement for the whole of Pakistan that We have been selected from the 600 innovators around the globe as finalists in the Grand Challenge ” Saving Lives at Birth “. Please Vote for “Micro Health Franchise System” at http://www.savinglivesatbirth.​net/innovation/summaries

Saving Lives at Birth

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Project Summaries | Saving Lives at Birth
www.savinglivesatbirth.net
Saving Lives at Birth calls upon the brightest minds across the globe to identify and scale up trans-formative prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in rural, low-resource settings around the time of birth.

Banazir Income Support Program is an initiative of the Government of Pakistan to provide financial assistance to the poor and deserving families. In order to maintain transparency and ensure speedy delivery of benefits to the deserving families, BISP conducts door-to-door poverty surveys.

On Friday, March 12, 2010, FINCON submitted a proposal for the Poverty Surveys in Sindh province. Federal Minister/Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme, Farzana Raja was present on the occasion.

BISP has declared 11 firms eligible for the Poverty Survey, out of which 10 submitted their proposals, including FINCON. Our Business Development Manager, Mr. Atif Irshad attended the bid opening ceremony at BISP Office, Islamabad.

Currently FINCON is undertaking this project for the Ministry of Environment of Pakistan. The basic purpose of the assignment is to enhance capacities in generation, management and utilization of accurate and timely water & sanitation information for informed decision making.

Some of the activities undertaken by FINCON include:

• Literature review of existing MIS in the WATSAN sector
• Stakeholder analysis through meetings and discussions
• Analysis of the gathered information and drafting a concept paper for an integrated MIS for the water and sanitation sector of Pakistan
• Outlining Data Collection requirements of various line agencies at federal/ provincial/ district/ tehsil level as input for MIS
• Drafting detailed methodology for the establishment of federal/ provincial/ district/ tehsil level data collection and development of integrated MIS for the water & sanitation sector of Pakistan

It is a USAID funded project in Pakistan in which FINCON is partnering with Chemonics and other international firms. The entire life of the EPF project is 4 years which is broken down into yearly targets. The Empower Pakistan: Firms (EPF) project intends to develop a dynamic and internationally competitive business sector in Pakistan. To achieve this goal, EPF will focus on improvement of productivity and competitiveness of Pakistani business in selection of 26 districts across the four provinces.

FIP aims to transform the financial market through better regulation, availability of information, provision of long-term commercial financing, improving technology infrastructure and skills development. This transformation will lead to create wider livelihood opportunities through improved access to financial services for poor and marginalized groups in Pakistan.

FINCON is to partner with Coffey International Development for FIP.

As stated in the TOR the objectives of the implementation phase are to:

• provide TA in all required areas of development finance including microfinance, SME finance, rural
• Finance and low income housing;
• provide TA to set up a credit guarantee scheme to increase flow of credit to SMEs in urban and Rural areas;
• provide TA in the management of institutional strengthening fund that would assist MFIs
• restructure into MFBs and invest in strengthening systems and human resource capacity of the
• Financial sector intermediaries for efficient and cost-effective delivery of financial services to the poor; and
• Provide TA to develop a financial innovation fund for developing innovative products and delivery systems for financial services to the poor.

For the Urban Public and Environmental Health Sector Development Program (UPEHSDP), FINCON has been shortlisted for FMMFC.

The Financial Management and Municipal Finance (FMMF) consultancy firm will assist UPEHSDP in substantially reforming and improving financial management of city corporations’ and project management of UPEHSDP, introducing modernized and computerized accounting systems, and performance-based budgeting, using information technology to enhance financial management, improving tax collection and expanding the tax base to strengthen municipal finances, and also conduct regular concurrent audits of UPEHSDP to ensure high degree of adherence to various procurement and financial management guidelines.

FINCON is providing support to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Cambodia in improving its debt management systems. Our consultant will begin his second visit to Phnom Penh to provide training in the use of the United Nation’s Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS) and explore other information systems to keep track of investment projects and debt.

FINCON has been shortlisted for an ADB project in Papua New Guinea named “Supporting Public Financial Management”, Project Number 41510. The Project has been finance by Japan Special Fund.

The project is aimed at helping strengthen Public Financial Management (PFM) in PNG by:

• Enhancing oversight of statutory authorities,
• Improving project evaluation and prioritization,
• Strengthening procurement arrangements,
• Enhancing transparency and monitoring of subnational service delivery, and
• Supporting the development of domestic bond markets.

International consultants (29 person-months) and national consultants (12 person- months) will be engaged with expertise in economic and financial analysis, statutory authority governance, procurement, bond market development, and legal and financial management.

Signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) among FINCON Services Inc. and Academia Industry Government Roundtable (AIGR) in NWFP

(From R-L) President FINCON Services Inc. Shahid Yusaf & Chairman AIGR Zahid Arif signing the MoU, Governor NWFP Owais Ahmad Ghani is also present.

FINCON Services Inc. a Canada based one of the largest multi disciplinary consulting firm and Academia Industry Government Roundtable (AIGR), a newly constituted organization in NWFP has recently signed a memorandum of understanding.

The MoU was signed at a ceremony in Governor House Peshawar on Friday January 22, 2010, in the presence of Governor Owais Ahmad Ghani. President FINCON Services Inc Mr. Shahid Yusaf and chairman AIGR Mr. Zahid Arif signed the memorandum of understanding.

The MoU will provide a common business framework for FINCON Services Inc. & AIGR for the identification of market driven opportunities, supporting value chain development management, R & D and promoting innovative activities in FATA. The MoU will also help and facilitate the quality of planning & advancement for the projects in the province.

FINCON and AIGR Round Table Discussion with Governor N.W.F.P

Speaking on this occasion the NWFP Governor, Owais Ahmad Ghani who is also the guardian of AIGR highly appreciates the performance and the role of AIGR and Science & Information Technology institutions in FATA and NWFP. He assured to continue every possible support to make the organization fully productive and result oriented.

The secretary Science & Information Technology institution, Orangzeb Khan, Chief Executive FATA development authority Attaullah Khan, Director Science & Information Technology institution Khalid Khan, the stakeholders of AIGR and members of Industry & Trade NWFP were also present at the occasion.