KARACHI: President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman of the National Business Group Pakistan and Chairman of the FPCCI Policy Advisory Board, Mian Zahid Hussain has welcomed the State Bank of Pakistan’s launch of SMEConnect on October 29, describing the centralised digital system as an important step towards improving access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises.
He said its real success would be reflected in loans disbursed, the number of businesses obtaining financing for the first time, and the time taken from application to disbursement. Transparent records and effective monitoring would deliver meaningful benefits when small businesses received timely capital and expanded their productive capacity.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that, under the State Bank’s instructions, all SME financing applications would be submitted through SMEConnect from November 1, 2026, while bank branch staff would guide and assist applicants in submitting their applications digitally.
The ability to track applications and identify reasons for rejection would improve transparency and help uncover unnecessary delays. However, banks must also improve their internal procedures to ensure timely decisions and the actual disbursement of approved loans.
Mian Zahid Hussain said outstanding SME financing stood at Rs1,148 billion as of October 23, 2026, of which small enterprises accounted for Rs538 billion, or approximately 46.9 percent. He said adequate access to finance was essential for increasing production, supporting business expansion and creating employment. This pre-launch position should serve as a baseline for assessing subsequent progress, enabling policymakers to identify which businesses and regions were benefiting from the new facility.
Mian Zahid said the number of SME borrowers stood at approximately 350,862 at the end of September, against a target of 775,000 by June 2028 under the Access to Finance Programme. Achieving this target would require approximately 424,138 additional borrowers. He stressed that increased financing must reach new businesses, small industries, women-led enterprises and underserved districts alongside existing borrowers. Sustainable and balanced economic growth would require a broader base of business activity.
Mian Zahid proposed that the State Bank publish quarterly bank-wise performance reports showing the average time taken to decide applications, loans approved, amounts actually disbursed, reasons for rejection and the number of first-time borrowers. Financing extended to women, smaller cities and disadvantaged districts should be reported separately.
He said effective monitoring of loan repayments and credit quality was equally important to ensure that wider financial access remained sustainable and banking resources supported productive activities.
Mian Zahid said SMEDA, banks, FPCCI and trade organisations should jointly help small businesses prepare their accounts, financial records and loan applications. Guidance in local languages, trained branch staff and simpler documentation requirements would enable more businesses to benefit from the digital facility.
Banks should improve credit assessment based on business income, cash flows and repayment capacity.
He said timely working capital and machinery financing would enable small businesses to accelerate production, generate employment and supply value-added products to export markets. Making SMEConnect an effective instrument for achieving these economic outcomes was the shared responsibility of the government, banks and the business community.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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