Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister of Youth Affairs Usman Dar on Saturday shared the success story of a female beneficiary of the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) from the minority community, who achieved economic self-reliance and became a useful helping hand for her family.

On his twitter account, he posted a special documentary of Sobia Rashid Gill, who got loan of over Rs 500,000, to highlight effectiveness of the YES of Kamyab Jawan Programme (KJP) in transforming the lives of marginalized strata. In a tweet, he said that the KJP’s business loans were designed to empower the youth without any discrimination.

He said that the initiative was meant to uplift poor segments of the society. He said that the soft loan under KJP helped Sobia Gill to expand her business and fulfill her dream of becoming a successful entrepreneur. “Since childhood, I was passionate to start my own business for supporting my family,” she said.

“I always desired to become a beautician and started my business on a small scale,” said Sobia Gill, owner of the forever beauty parlor, in a two-minute video clip. She said that she applied for the loan under the KJP to expand her business for which there was a need of some investment.

She said that she received the loan from the Bank of Punjab within a short span of time. She said that the instant approval of the loan really amazed her as being minority, “I did not face any hurdle in getting the loan.” She appreciated the government and team of the KJP for helping her in opening second branch of the parlor, where eight girls were being trained in the beautician profession.

On the other hand, Usman Dar said in a statement that around 10,000 businesses had been launched with disbursement of around nine billion rupees amount under the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme. He said that all the details regarding provision of loans to the youth under the YES would soon be made public.