Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Friday said that in the budget for 2013-14, a scheme enabling the youth to start their own businesses had been established whereby loans through the banking system would be made available in a transparent manner.
“Under the scheme loans ranging from Rs 100,000 to Rs two million would be available at a mark-up cost of 8 percent. The remaining cost of mark-up would be borne by the government. A sum of Rs 2 billion had also been earmarked for macro-finance to encourage small businesses,” Dar said while talking to a USAID delegation led by Director Gregory C Gottlieb.
He added that small and medium enterprises had a special place in the strategy being formulated by the government to revive the country’s economy.
Dar added that during the previous government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, institutions like the Board of Investment (BOI) and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) were established to encourage businesses in a conducive environment.
Furthermore, Dar said that the government intended to revamp the BOI with the objective of making it a one-window one-stop operation for investors.
He added that the revival of SMEDA was also on the cards, with the aim to reconnect it with the private sector so that they could benefit from the institution via setting up small and medium term businesses.
Gottlieb said that the USAID was ready to work with the Pakistani government and that it would provide technical and technological support to BOI and SMEDA. This would help enhance the capacity of these organizations and result in them playing an effective role in fulfilling their mandate, he added.