Advisor to Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood has urged women entrepreneurs to avail incentives provide by the government in order to encourage an ‘all-inclusive’ economic development.

“Women entrepreneurship is essential for all-inclusive economic development and our government is promoting this culture through various interventions including access to finance,” said Dawood, in a statement.

The advisor said that female entrepreneurs should approach the central bank for their business financing needs, as SBP has a scheme specifically for this purpose.

“Under the SBP refinance scheme for women entrepreneurs, SBP provides funds to banks at 0pc, banks can provide maximum financing amount of Rs. 5 million on maximum markup rate of 5pc, with easy repayment options and risk coverage up to 60pc,” he said.

Initially in August 2017, the State Bank had introduced Refinance and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Women Entrepreneurs in underserved areas to promote financial inclusion and access to finance for women entrepreneurs in the country. Subsequently, the scope of the scheme was enhanced to cover the whole of Pakistan.

“We hope our women will avail this opportunity and become entrepreneurs in various sectors of our economy,” added Dawood.