Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has announced the multi-billion CM Punjab Assan Karobar Finance scheme, a game-changing government-supported initiative that seeks to rev up economic growth and empower small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in Punjab.
The innovative program will be extended 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 aims to assist entrepreneurs in setting up new businesses, expanding operations, and modernizing setups with funding for working capital, balancing, modernization, replacing machinery, and leasing companies for logistics.
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All industries can participate in the Assan Karobar Finance initiative, which complies with State Bank of Pakistan rules. It is categorized into two tiers based on the amount of loan, Tier 1 offers unsecured loans up to Rs 5 million, and Tier 2 offers secured loans from Rs 5 million to Rs 30 million.
Eligibility Criteria for Assan Karobar Finance Scheme for Entrepreneurs:
Applicants shall be aged between 25 to 55 years, have a good credit history, be business owners, and be tenants of a premise in which the business takes place.
The repayment period extends up to five years, after a moratorium period of six months for the new businesses and three months for already existing ones.
Besides funding, the Punjab CM Assan Karobar Card is also a digital application to facilitate small businesses in the province. The card will make small enterprises eligible for interest-free loans of up to Rs1 million for three years with three months of grace.
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. The company expects to reach more than 100,000 small businesses.
This program also encompasses a number of other incentive schemes to support the success of entrepreneurs; it contains a capital grant of up to Rs5 million for solar equipment and cleaner production technologies, non-financial advisory services, and the establishment of new small industrial estates in important regions like Sialkot, Gujrat, and Quaidabad.
Now, stakeholders will focus on the tannery sector in Sialkot and shift a shoe tannery to the Special Tannery Zone, thus reducing water pollution and enhancing leather export quality.
Next, the government will be preparing plans for Phase II of the Punjab CM Assan Karobar Finance scheme with a wider focus and monetary scope of Rs100 billion that will be rolled out in the next fiscal year.
It will accommodate 24,000 SMEs with a loan amount of Rs379 billion for general growth and development across the province.