Government relaxes eligibility requirements for long-term loans as Pakistan allocates Rs300 billion under the Export Finance Scheme and Rs350 billion for long-term financing.

Islamabad, November 5, 2026: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has abolished the requirement for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to generate at least 80 per cent of their revenue from exports to qualify for long-term financing.

The prime minister also directed that no bank would be allowed to deviate from implementing concessional financing schemes for SMEs and exporters.

He issued these directives while chairing a high-level meeting on facilitating export-oriented SMEs on Thursday, according to a Prime Minister’s Office statement.

Shehbaz said the government would provide all possible support to strengthen SMEs, improve their production capacity, enhance skills and promote business growth.

He directed the relevant authorities to improve accreditation standards, expand laboratory facilities and simplify regulatory procedures to facilitate exporters.

The prime minister also called for establishing modern laboratories to ensure exporters could access testing and certification services closer to their businesses.

The meeting was briefed on consultations with SME representatives, during which participants highlighted challenges relating to taxation, refunds, provincial levies, accreditation, logistics, payments and financing.

Officials informed the meeting that Pakistan had approximately 17,000 export-oriented SMEs.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) launched a dedicated portal on November 1 to facilitate access to financing for the SME sector. The portal has received more than 10,000 loan applications since its launch.

The government has allocated Rs300 billion under the Export Finance Scheme for SMEs and new exporters. Another Rs350 billion has been allocated this year under the Long-Term Financing Facility (LTFF).

The meeting was also informed about initiatives to increase Pakistan’s exports to African countries.

The prime minister stressed that banks must ensure effective implementation of concessional financing facilities so that SMEs could benefit from government support and expand their businesses.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmad, several federal ministers, advisers and senior government officials.