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Rs300bn SME Export Finance as PM Scraps 80% RuleBusiness
Small exporters get easier access to cheap loans as the PM scraps the rule that firms must export 80% of output to qualify for long-term finance.
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Small and medium exporters are set for easier access to concessional finance after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered the removal of the condition that firms must export at least 80% of their products to qualify for long-term loans. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting in Islamabad on facilitating export-oriented SMEs, attended by federal ministers and State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad.
The prime minister said no bank would be allowed to deviate from the government’s concessional financing schemes for SMEs and exporters, and directed that government support and facilities be ensured to help small firms grow, build skills and expand their business opportunities. Officials said the meeting reviewed the problems exporters face around taxes, refunds, provincial levies, accreditation, logistics, payments and financing.
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Officials told the meeting that Rs300 billion has been allocated under the Export Finance Scheme for SMEs and new exporters, while Rs350 billion has been earmarked this year for the Long-Term Financing Facility. The allocation, announced by the Finance Minister’s Adviser Khurram Schehzad, will be channelled through the Pakistan Export-Import Bank (Pak EXIM) and is complemented by tax relief measures in the FY2026-27 budget.
10,000 applications already
The meeting was told that around 17,000 SMEs in Pakistan are linked to exports and that more than 10,000 applications have been received since the State Bank launched its SMEConnect portal on 1 November to ease access to loans for the sector. Under the wider scheme, the Export Finance Scheme envelope for FY2026-27 stands at Rs1,500 billion, up from Rs1,000 billion, with the Rs300 billion share reserved for SME exporters, agricultural SMEs and new borrowers.
The initiative is expected to provide working capital, expand production and open new international markets for SME exporters, whose access to cheap finance has long been limited. The government says the measures will strengthen the country’s export competitiveness at a time when it is pushing for export-led growth and trying to widen access to finance for businesses that have traditionally struggled to borrow from banks.
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