3.7m households to get Rs1.4tr loans

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will inaugurate an ambitious Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) on Monday (today) under which the government plans to provide Rs1.4 trillion micro loans to 3.7 million households.

A flagship initiative of the present government, Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP), will be inaugurated by the prime minister on October 4, 2021. The KPP shall be rolled out gradually. During the first phase, Gilgit-Baltistan, AJK, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and poorest of the poor districts of Punjab and Sindh are included.

In line with the vision of the prime minister to empower masses, the government has taken multiple initiatives, which are targeted towards poverty alleviation, employment generation and provision of affordable housing for masses.

Kamyab Pakistan Programme has been designed to transform the lives of the marginalised segments of the society. The programme shall disburse microcredit amounting to Rs1,400 billion for the poorest of the poor, 3.7 million households, providing them with much needed financial support to improve their livelihood. Financing under KPP shall only be extended to families with a cumulative average monthly income of up to Rs50,000 per month.

This is a first programme of its kind in Pakistan’s history wherein the banks are being connected to the lowest income segment through micro-finance institutions. KPP, a brainchild of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, is based on the concept of financial empowerment i.e. creating opportunities to improve the financial health of people with limited access to resources.

The finance minister stated that the government is firmly committed not to provide fish to the poor people but teach them how to catch one for sustainable living arrangement under the umbrella of KPP. The whole paradigm of KPP will change the lives of the under-privileged people in Pakistan over the years. The programme is based on most innovative financing structure in recent times.

KPP has five component namely (i) Kamyab Kissan (ii) Kamyab Karobar (iii) Naya Pakistan low-cost housing (iv) Kamyab Hunarmand and (v) Sehatmand Pakistan. Under the first 3 components, micro-loans shall be disbursed amongst eligible persons registered with Ehsaas Data, scientifically collected through National Socio-economic Registry (NSER). The last two components of KPP will be integrated with the government’s existing initiatives. Kamyab Hunarmand is designed to integrate with government’s ongoing skill development programme for imparting educational and vocational training to our talented youth. The KPP also includes a user-friendly portal called Kamyab Pakistan Information System (KPIS). The portal will be integrated with Ehsaas and Nadra data bases for verification of beneficiaries’ eligibility to facilitate the executing agencies (i.e. MfP’s) for finalising the financing modalities in a most efficient and seamless manner.

KPP will complement efforts of the government to counter inflation by enabling masses to improve their livelihood. KPP is a true dispensation of a responsible state to uplift its poor and vulnerable segments with key focus on “bottom-up approach” for achieving all-inclusive and sustainable economic growth as envisaged by the prime minister.