Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: The Governor State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Dr Jameel Ahmed on Wednesday informed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that loans extended to the private sector reached Rs1.1 trillion in the last fiscal year. During a review meeting on government measures to promote small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), chaired by the prime minister, the SBP Governor briefed that lending in the current fiscal year had already surpassed the target of Rs904 billion within just three quarters. Dr Ahmed noted a 28 per cent increase in loans to SMEs during this period. In light of this performance, he said the target for SME lending for fiscal year 2028 has been revised upwards from Rs1,100 billion to Rs1,500 billion. READ MORE: PM Shehbaz orders easy loans for SMEs to boost national economy Dr Ahmed also highlighted that the SBP is undertaking further initiatives to encourage commercial banks to expand their lending to SMEs. On the matter of facilitating access to export markets and export financing for SMEs, he informed the prime minister that, following his directives, a dedicated window has been established to provide SMEs with export financing facilities. So far, 41 new SMEs have registered to benefit from these initiatives. During a detailed briefing on the implementation of the prime minister’s directives, officials from the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) emphasised that SMEs possess significant potential to contribute to economic growth and enhance exports. The prime minister expressed satisfaction with the efforts of Haroon Akhtar, the special assistant to the prime minister on industries, and the SMEDA team, noting that they are working around the clock to provide SMEs with easier access to loans, digital financing, formal economy integration, and export markets. He described the roadmap prepared by SMEDA and the Ministry of Industry as satisfactory and directed the preparation of an implementation plan with achievable targets within the stipulated timeframe. He further instructed commercial banks to facilitate easy loans for SMEs and emphasised that processing sectors in agriculture should also be classified as SMEs. The prime minister welcomed initiatives aimed at increasing women’s participation in SMEs, calling for more effective measures to ensure women can access financing and export opportunities. The meeting received briefings from SMEDA, the Ministry of Industry and Production, and the SBP. Officials said that SMEDA is implementing 48 initiatives across eight strategic sectors to promote SME development, with phased goals set for the next two and four years. The briefing included updates on targets for the current year and their progress, highlighting measures to expand local and export market access through roadshows and exhibitions, strengthen value chains via vendor profiling, attract investment through easy and low-cost loans, and promote formal economic participation through an SME database. Progress monitoring mechanisms were also discussed. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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