Pakistan

CM Punjab to launch ‘Assan Karobar Finance’ scheme to empower small entrepreneurs

Published by

Staff Reporter

1 year ago

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has given approval to the multibillion CM Punjab Assan Karobar Finance scheme, a game-changing government-supported endeavor aimed at jumpstarting economic growth and empowering small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in Punjab.

The innovative program will extend to various sectors of business in an effort to boost job generation, enhance exports, and drive economic development in the region through interest-free loans and complete support.

The scheme intends to help entrepreneurs establish new businesses, expand operations, and modernize setups with funding for working capital, balancing, modernization, replacing machinery, and leasing companies for logistics.

The Assan Karobar Finance scheme is open to all sectors, including agricultural SMEs, and is compliant with the regulations of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

The scheme is structured into two tiers based on the amount of loan, Tier-1 offering Cunsecured loans of up to Rs5 million and Tier-2 offering secured loans from Rs5 million to Rs30 million.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify, applicants must meet the requirement of applicants between 25 and 55 years of age, having a good credit history, and are either business owners or tenants of premises where the business operates.

The repayment period can be extended to five years with a moratorium period of six months for new businesses and three months for existing businesses.

Besides financing, the Punjab CM Assan Karobar Card is a digital process to support small businesses within the province. It will allow small enterprises access to interest-free loans of up to Rs1 million for a period of three years with a grace period of three months.

This amount may be used only for business purposes as it is loaned through a digital platform, creating an ideal condition where it can be assured that the money is being utilized for the right purpose. More than 100,000 small businesses are expected to benefit from this initiative.

This program also includes several other incentive programs to bolster the success of entrepreneurs; it includes a capital subsidy of up to Rs5 million for solar equipment and cleaner production technologies, non-financial advice, and the building of new small industrial estates in important areas like Sialkot, Gujrat, and Quaidabad.

Stakeholders are now focusing on the tannery sector in Sialkot and will relocate a shoe tannery to a special Tannery Zone to reduce water pollution and improve leather export quality.

Next, the government is making plans for Phase-II of the Punjab CM Assan Karobar Finance scheme, with a broader focus and a monetary scope of Rs100 Billion, set to be launched by the next fiscal year.

The second phase will accommodate around 24,000 SMEs, with a loan amount of Rs379 billion extended for overall growth and development throughout the province.

Staff Reporter