Chairman Prime Minister’s Youth Programme (PMYP) Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan on Tuesday announced a more than threefold increase in the maximum financing limit under the Prime Minister’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYBALS), raising it from Rs 7.5 million to Rs 25 million to enable young entrepreneurs to expand their businesses, establish larger enterprises and create employment opportunities across the country.
Addressing a press conference, he said the newly introduced Tier-4 of the scheme had been approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and ratified by the Federal Cabinet, marking a significant expansion of financing opportunities for young business owners.
Under the new tier, eligible entrepreneurs would be able to obtain loans exceeding Rs7.5 million and up to Rs 25 million at an eight per cent markup for a maximum period of eight years.
Rana Mashhood said the enhanced financing facility would help successful youth led businesses graduate into small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in agro processing, cold chains, mechanised farming, solar energy, manufacturing and export-oriented industries.
He said the scheme is open to young Pakistanis aged 21 to 45, while individuals aged 18 and above could also apply for financing in information technology (IT) and e-commerce.
Both new ventures and existing businesses in the commercial and agricultural sectors would be eligible, with Islamic financing options also available.
The chairman said the government had also reduced the banks’ profit margin on Tier-3 and Tier-4 loans from KIBOR plus three per cent to KIBOR plus 2.4 per cent, without changing the markup rates payable by borrowers, which would remain seven per cent and 8 per cent, respectively.
The adjustment would generate savings of approximately Rs 600 million for every Rs 100 billion disbursed, enabling the government to extend financing to more young entrepreneurs within the available budget, he added.
Outlining the lending targets for fiscal year 2026-27, Rana Mashhood said the government planned to disburse Rs 292.5 billion to approximately 266,700 young Pakistanis, with an estimated potential to generate 835,000 jobs.
The financing would be equally distributed between agriculture and small businesses, while nearly three-fourths of the beneficiaries were expected to receive interest-free loans under Tier-1.
Highlighting the scheme’s performance, he said young entrepreneurs had demonstrated a repayment rate of more than 99 per cent, with non-performing loans standing at just 0.74 per cent.
He said the repayment record reflected the financial credibility and entrepreneurial potential of Pakistani youth, adding that young people had established themselves as reliable beneficiaries of institutional financing.
Since the Prime Minister restructured the scheme in January 2023, a total of 581,341 young entrepreneurs had received Rs 313.9 billion in financing, generating an estimated 1.82 million jobs.
Annual lending had increased from fewer than 17,000 beneficiaries to approximately 170,000 young people, he said, adding that since the scheme’s launch in 2013, a total of 638,081 borrowers had received Rs392.4 billion, contributing to the creation of nearly two million jobs.
He said 62 per cent of beneficiaries financed since 2023 belonged to the agriculture sector, while more than 121,000 young women had received Rs 36.6 billion in financing, accounting for approximately one-fifth of the total beneficiaries.
Explaining the revised financing structure, the chairman said Tier-1 offered loans of up to Rs 500,000 at zero markup, Tier-2 provided financing ranging from Rs 500,000 to Rs1.5 million at 5 per cent, and Tier-3 covered loans from Rs 1.5 million to Rs 7.5 million at 7 per cent markup.
The newly introduced Tier-4 offered financing exceeding Rs 7.5 million and up to Rs 25 million at 8 per cent markup. Tier-5 provided interest free loans of up to Rs 450,000 for laptops and up to Rs one million for prospective overseas workers.
Rana Mashhood said eligible applicants could submit their applications through the Prime Minister’s Digital Youth Hub at www.pmyp.gov.pk or the PMYP mobile application, available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
Emphasising transparency in the process, he said applicants did not require agents, personal recommendations or intermediaries, as all applications would be assessed by participating banks strictly on merit.
He urged young Pakistanis with viable business ideas to take advantage of the expanded financing facility and contribute to entrepreneurship, investment and employment generation in the country.
