Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday directed commercial banks to improve access to easy loans for women entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while also supporting them in reaching export markets.

Chairing a review meeting on government measures for SME development, the prime minister said the sector had vast potential to strengthen the national economy and increase exports.

He said it was encouraging that Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) were working on an emergency basis to expand easy credit, digital financing, formal economic inclusion and export opportunities for SMEs.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the roadmap prepared by SMEDA and the Ministry of Industries and Production, directing officials to present a time-bound implementation plan with measurable targets.

He also directed authorities to grant SME status to agriculture processing sectors and welcomed measures aimed at increasing women’s participation in small and medium industries.

Officials from SMEDA, the Ministry of Industries and Production and the State Bank of Pakistan informed the meeting that 48 initiatives were being implemented across eight strategic sectors to support SME growth over the next two to four years.

The meeting was briefed on measures to improve SMEs’ access to domestic and international markets through roadshows and exhibitions, along with efforts to strengthen value chains through vendor profiling and the creation of an SME database.

State Bank Governor Jamil Ahmed told the meeting that private sector lending stood at Rs1.1 trillion in the previous fiscal year, while loan disbursements had already surpassed the target of Rs904 billion during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year.

He said lending to SMEs had increased by 28%, prompting authorities to raise the SME financing target for fiscal year 2028 from Rs1.1 trillion to Rs1.5 trillion.

The meeting was also informed that a separate export financing window had been established on the prime minister’s directives, with 41 new SMEs joining the scheme so far.

Federal ministers, parliamentarians, senior officials and SMEDA Chief Executive Officer Nadia Sethi attended the meeting