SME financing rises Rs23bn to Rs1.137trn by Sept-end: Finance Division

Outstanding financing to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) increased by Rs23 billion to over Rs1.137 trillion by end-September 2026, as the government reviewed progress on expanding access to finance across priority sectors.

The development was discussed during the fifth meeting of the Access to Finance Steering Committee, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division on Wednesday.

The number of SME borrowers also increased by more than 25,000 to around 350,862 during the period, according to a Finance Division press release.

The finance minister directed authorities to accelerate progress towards the government’s medium-term target of increasing SME financing to Rs2 trillion and the number of borrowers to 775,000 by June 2028.

He said achieving the target would require an ecosystem-wide approach involving commercial banks, microfinance institutions and other financial service providers.

The committee also reviewed agriculture financing, which increased by Rs94.7 billion from Rs1.26 trillion in June 2026 to more than Rs1.35 trillion by end-September. The number of agriculture finance borrowers rose by 196,303 to approximately 3.46 million.

Under the Prime Minister’s Zarkhez-e-Asaan Zarai Qarza scheme, 5,563 uncollateralised loans worth Rs2.1 billion have been disbursed to smallholder farmers.

The committee also discussed measures to expand financing across the agricultural value chain, particularly livestock, fisheries and other underserved segments.

Housing finance increased by Rs103 billion from Rs323 billion in June to Rs426 billion by end-September, while the number of borrowers reached 231,550.

Under the Wazir-e-Azam Apna Ghar Program, Rs76 billion has been disbursed to 13,214 borrowers, while approved loans worth Rs350 billion are awaiting disbursement.

Aurangzeb called for measures to strengthen financing for both homebuyers and the supply side, including developers and builders, and directed relevant authorities to develop practical financing products to support affordable housing.

The meeting also reviewed the Pakistan Accelerated Vehicle Electrification (PAVE) Scheme. A total of 17,262 applications worth Rs2.54 billion have been approved, while 4,839 loans worth Rs975 million had been disbursed by end-September, resulting in the delivery of 2,725 electric vehicles.

The finance minister directed authorities to focus on converting approved financing into actual deliveries and removing implementation bottlenecks.

He stressed that government-backed financing schemes should remain commercially sound and targeted at genuine market gaps, while creating pathways for sustainable private-sector participation.

Aurangzeb directed ministries, regulators, financial institutions and industry stakeholders to implement agreed actions within defined timelines, saying the access-to-finance agenda should focus not only on increasing funding but also on building a broader ecosystem capable of reaching SMEs, farmers, households and other underserved segments.