Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered the launch of a digital portal for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by the end of November, to ease access to bank financing and allow real-time monitoring of credit and other business facilities.
He gave the directive while chairing a high-level meeting to review lending to the housing, agriculture and SME sectors. He also instructed the authorities to remove obstacles to the flow of credit and make the lending system more effective.
According to an official briefing, the portal will provide updated information on bank lending to businesses, including the status of letters of credit (LCs). Sharif directed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to build the capacity of SMEs, promote modern technology, raise productivity and help businesses join global value chains.
The meeting was told that the SME sector has so far received Rs1,137 billion in loans across 350,000 businesses. The government aims to raise this to Rs1,500 billion and 565,000 borrowing businesses by June 2027. Officials said measures are under way to improve the access of SMEs to finance, encourage investment in modern technology and help them compete in international markets.
On housing, the meeting heard that 71,690 loans worth Rs426 billion have been approved under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme. Of these, Rs76 billion has been disbursed to 13,214 borrowers. The target for the current year is Rs700 billion in housing finance for 125,000 residential units.
The prime minister praised the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for its 76 percent approval rate in housing finance. He directed its newly appointed president to improve the overall performance of bank by hiring the best professionals, and ordered action, without fear or favour, against employees who fail to deliver results.
Sharif also called for faster digitisation of land records in provinces other than Punjab, following the Punjab model. He said digitised records would make it easier for banks to process housing loans and would increase transparency.
In agriculture, lending currently stands at Rs1,352 billion, benefiting 3.455 million people. The government plans to raise agricultural credit to Rs1,500 billion and the number of beneficiaries to 4.5 million by June 2027. Officials said improved access to finance would raise farmers’ productivity and support wider economic activity.
The meeting was also briefed on revised SME regulations and steps to simplify housing-finance procedures. Other initiatives include joint risk-sharing in lending, promotion of supply-chain financing and the sharing of verified data. Officials said the government is also promoting digital systems so that people seeking small loans do not have to visit bank branches repeatedly.
The meeting reviewed the lending performance of the NBP and First Women Bank. It was attended by federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Riaz Pirzada and Attaullah Tarar, Prime Minister’s Adviser Haroon Akhtar, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad and other senior officials.
