PM orders banks to ease loan access for women entrepreneurs

May 13, 2026 (MLN): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed commercial banks to facilitate easy credit access for women entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while also helping them tap into export markets.

Chairing a high-level review meeting on government measures for SME uplift, he reaffirmed that SMEs hold full potential for driving national economic growth and boosting exports.

He ordered that agriculture processing sectors be granted SME status and called for an implementation plan with clear, time-bound targets based on the roadmap prepared by SMEDA and the Ministry of Industries, APP reported.

The meeting, attended by Federal Ministers, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Jam Kamal Khan, Dr. Musadik Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan, MNAs Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar and Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha, State Bank Governor Jamil Ahmed, and SMEDA CEO Nadia Sethi, was briefed on 48 initiatives across eight strategic sectors aimed at achieving growth targets over the next two to four years.

The State Bank Governor revealed that private sector lending has already surpassed the Rs 904 billion target in the first three quarters of the current fiscal year  reflecting a 28% rise in SME loans prompting authorities to revise the 2028 lending target upward from Rs 1,100 billion to Rs 1,500 billion.

 A dedicated export financing window, established on the PM's instructions, has already onboarded 41 new SMEs.

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