Islamabad: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday (July 9) revealed that the government was all set to provide loans under the Prime Minister (PM) Kamyab Jawan Programme’s-Phase II initiative to the local youth demographic for setting up utility store franchises across Pakistan, a news source reported.
The minister shared this information while presiding over a meeting held to deliberate the issue. Utility Stores Corporation (USC) Managing Director Umer Lodhi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs Muhammad Usman Dar, and Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, along with other senior state officials, were all present at the session.
SAPM Dar informed the meeting that out of the total applications received for the PM’s Kamyab Jawan Programme, 250,000 had expressed the applicants’ interest in opening up retails stores. Minister Umar remarked that lending money to such franchises would come with the benefit of ensured loan security. He further said that the establishment of more of these store units would play a key role in stabilising the market.
Minister Azhar said that his ministry would assess the proposed plan and present a model for setting up 1,000 operational USC stores across the country. In this regard, a pilot project would be launched before the process of opening franchises was fully scaled up.
The meeting concluded that the loan schemes would be finalised based on the feedback received from the stakeholders.
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