PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has taken a significant step to empower and provide employment opportunities to its youth by initiating the distribution of interest-free loans under the ‘Ehsaas Nojawan Programme’.
A ceremony to distribute loan checks was held at the Chief Minister House in Peshawar on Tuesday, with Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur as the chief guest.
Members of the provincial cabinet, including Syed Fakhar Jahan, Brigadier (retd) Muhammad Sajjad, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif and Muzammil Aslam, along with officials from the Department of Youth Affairs and selected beneficiaries of the programme, also attended the event.
The ‘Ehsaas Nojawan Programme’ is a flagship initiative under the umbrella of the provincial government’s ‘Ihsas Initiatives’ aimed at economically empowering the youth of the province by providing them with interest-free loans to start their own businesses.
This three-year programme, launched with an initial budget of Rs 3,000 crore, has an allocation of Rs 1,100 crore in the current fiscal year. This program consists of two components. The first component of the program is carried out in collaboration with the Bank of Khyber (BoK), through which interest-free loans worth one billion rupees are provided. Under this component, groups of three to five people aged between 18 and 35 years are eligible for loans ranging from Rs 1 million to Rs 5 million.
A flexible payment schedule has been designed covering eight years, with the first 20 months being a grace period during which no payments are required.
The second phase, in collaboration with Akhuwat Microfinance Bank, has a budget of Rs 2,000 crore. This phase offers interest-free loans between Rs 100,000 and Rs 500,000 to people between 18 and 40 years of age for small-scale businesses.
Special quotas have been reserved for women and people with disabilities.
Addressing the ceremony, the Chief Minister said that very soon three more programs will also be launched under the Ehsaas initiative – Ehsaas Apna Ghar Programme, Ehsaas Rozgar Program and Ehsaas Hunar Programme, with a combined allocation of Rs 15 billion in the current budget.
The Chief Minister emphasized that the Ehsaas Nojawan Program is a vital step towards financial independence of the youth, in line with the vision of the founding president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
The initiative aims to encourage youth not only to create employment opportunities for themselves but also to create jobs for others.
He urged young people to prioritize entrepreneurship over job search, highlighting the immense growth potential of business ventures.
The provincial government, he assured, is committed to providing full support to young people with innovative business ideas.
Concluding his speech, Gandapur highlighted the importance of hard work and integrity and stated, “Honesty is the best strategy and there is no substitute for hard work.”
