LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced a historic milestone as the provincial government provided Rs61 billion in loans to over 107,000 individuals, leading to the launch of around 58,000 new businesses in just three months under the ‘Aasan Karobar Finance’ and ‘Karobar Card’ schemes.
Chairing a special briefing on the progress of these initiatives, CM Maryam highlighted that for the first time, 6,753 women have obtained loans worth Rs3.4 billion to start their own ventures. She directed authorities to expedite the processing of pending applications and called for the Easy Business Card to be activated through WhatsApp for greater accessibility.
The Chief Minister emphasized the importance of continuing the Easy Business Finance and Easy Business Card programs without interruption and requested plans to extend support to the export and manufacturing sectors.
Punjab Small Industries Corporation Managing Director Sara Umar shared key figures: 3,010 individuals received Rs18 billion under the Easy Business Finance scheme, while 104,000 people accessed Rs43 billion through the Easy Business Card scheme. Out of 74,579 applications for Easy Business Finance, 2,505 were approved, and in the Tier II category, 505 out of 12,029 applications were approved.
For the Easy Business Card scheme, 104,133 approvals were made from 138,838 applications. Loans have supported diverse sectors including transportation, distribution, professional services, agriculture, dairy, food, beautification, auto, fertilizer, and pesticides.
Notably, 61,996 borrowers secured Rs26.13 billion for services, 24,522 received Rs10.75 billion for trading, and 10,699 took Rs3.69 billion for small agricultural businesses, reflecting the wide reach and impact of these financial schemes across Punjab’s economy.