Govt to roll out Islamic financing facility for youth

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to roll out an Islamic financing facility for youth under its flagship Kamyab Jawan programme, ARY News reported.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Youth Affairs Usman Dar met State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir to discuss the dos and don’ts of the scheme, which is slated to be launched in April.

Officials privy to the development say conventional banks will be engaged in Islamic financing for the youth.

Usman Dar, explaining how the facility will work, said it is in line with persistent demands of the youth for Islamic financing.

The SAPM said consultations with the central bank and all stakeholders have been completed in this regard.

He said loans are being disbursed among youth under the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) after due scrutiny in the first phase and that successful applicants would be entitled to Islamic financing in the second phase.

It is noteworthy that the YES was launched under the banner of Kamyab Jawan Programme in October last year under which Rs100 billion allocated for the youth and loans ranging from Rs100,000 to Rs5 million would be disbursed among the youth coming up with practicable business ideas.

“Some 1.3 million youth applied for the loan scheme in merely 15 days which brings it into international spotlight as a team of the United Nations has discussed this Kamyab Jawan programme for attracting such a large proportion of youth,” the special assistant had said.