ISLAMABAD — In a major effort to scale up youth entrepreneurship and financial inclusion, the Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP), Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, chaired a high-level review meeting focused on the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB&ALS).

The meeting brought together senior representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and executives from all participating commercial, Islamic, and microfinance banks to review budget utilization and devise strict measures to enhance the scheme’s overall socio-economic footprint.

Key Highlights & Strategic Focus:

• Optimizing Budget Utilization: The forum meticulously reviewed the deployment of funds across all tiers of the scheme. Discussions centered on cutting red tape, expediting loan disbursement processes, and maximizing efficiency to ensure capital directly reaches eligible young entrepreneurs.
• Championing Women’s Economic Empowerment: A central pillar of the meeting was expanding access to financial opportunities for women. The leadership reiterated its commitment to enforcing the mandatory 25% gender quota within the loan framework, ensuring young women have the financial backing to launch and scale their own businesses.
• Inclusive Nationwide Development: To foster balanced economic growth, the Chairman instructed banks to expand their digital and physical outreach to underserved and rural areas, ensuring equal economic participation for youth across the country.

A Tech-Driven, Merit-Based Economy

During the session, Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan emphasized that transitioning from basic economic stabilization to long-term growth relies heavily on youth empowerment.

“Our goal is to ensure that financial capital is backed by absolute transparency and merit. By strengthening our partnership with the banking sector and leveraging tools like the Digital Youth Hub, we are building a robust ecosystem where youth-led enterprises can thrive,” stated the Chairman.

The representatives from the State Bank of Pakistan and commercial institutions assured their full cooperation, pledging to streamline digital application processes and set ambitious targets to double the number of loan beneficiaries across Pakistan.