ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday ordered the launch of a digital portal for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by November end to facilitate access to bank financing and enable real-time monitoring of credit and other business facilities.
Presiding over a high-level review meeting on lending to the housing, agriculture and SME sectors, the prime minister also directed the authorities to remove obstacles to the flow of credit and make the lending system more effective.
The proposed SME portal will provide updated information on bank lending to businesses, including the status of letters of credit (LCs) and other business facilities, according to an official briefing.
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Sharif directed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to focus on improving the capacity of SMEs, promoting modern technology, raising productivity and helping businesses become part of global value chains.
The meeting was informed that under the Prime Minister’s Apna Ghar Scheme, 71,690 housing loans worth Rs426 billion have so far been approved, while Rs76 billion has been disbursed to 13,214 borrowers.
A target of Rs700 billion in housing finance for 125,000 residential units has been set for the current year.
The prime minister praised the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for achieving a 76 percent approval rate in housing finance and directed its newly appointed president to improve the bank’s overall performance by hiring the best professionals.
He further directed that action be taken, without fear or favour, against employees who failed to deliver the required results.
He also called for the pace of land-record digitisation to be accelerated in provinces other than Punjab, following the latter’s model.
He said digitised land records would make it easier for banks to process housing loans while bringing greater transparency to the system.
Agricultural lending currently stands at Rs1,352 billion, benefiting 3.455 million people, the meeting was told.
The government has set a target of raising agricultural credit to Rs1,500 billion by June 2027, with the number of beneficiaries expected to reach 4.5 million.
The meeting was told that improved access to finance would help raise farmers’ productivity and support broader economic activity.
The SME sector has so far received Rs1,137 billion in loans for 350,000 businesses, according to the briefing.
By June 2027, the government aims to increase SME lending to Rs1,500 billion and the number of borrowing businesses to 565,000.
Officials said measures were being taken to improve SMEs’ access to finance, encourage investment in modern technology and enable them to compete in international markets.
The meeting was also briefed on revised SME regulations and measures to simplify housing-finance procedures.
Other initiatives include joint risk-sharing in lending, promotion of supply-chain financing and the sharing of verified data.
The government is also promoting digital systems to enable people seeking small loans to avoid repeated visits to bank branches, officials said.
The meeting reviewed the lending performance of the NBP and First Women Bank.
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 attended the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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