Islamabad: The federal government plans to introduce a financial scheme worth PKR 20 billion for farmers and small & medium enterprises (SMEs) in the upcoming budget, a news source reported.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Central Directorate of National Savings (CDNS) is expected to provide the funds for the credit-guarantee scheme.
This project is part of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), which is sponsored by the World Bank (WB). It aims to create an ecosystem for facilitating access and usage of digital payments & financial services by low-income households and SMEs. The scheme was earlier supposed to be included in the previous budget, but was delayed.
Its beneficiaries will include farmers, SMEs, differently-abled persons, and the poor. Under this initiative, SBP would extend a credit facility on fixed 5pc mark up for five years, and the borrowers and beneficiaries would have a six years grace period to repay their loans.
