Nestlé Pakistan has come on board as a partner for Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan (PMYBL) Scheme being managed by National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
The MoU was signed by the NBP President Syed Ahmed Iqbal Ashraf and the Managing Director of Nestlé Pakistan Mr. Magdi Batato.
According to a recent UNDP report the population of Pakistan is growing at 2% every year and agriculture is playing a crucial role in order to bear such an enormous population. More than half of the population of Pakistan i.e. 65% lives in rural areas and over 46% of the entire employment is delivered by the agriculture sector.
This collaboration will assist the PMYBL scheme for generating opportunities of self-employment to vendors of Nestlé Pakistan who have good credit history and sound credibility. The focus in the first phase of the project will be on young dairy farmers between the ages of 21 and 45 who can apply for a loan from NBP to develop new or grow existing businesses. Nestlé Pakistan will assist the dairy farmers by providing them training to maximise output, assure quality and optimise productivity in accordance with the highest standards. The company hopes to expand the facility to other vendors in the future.
The SEVP & Group Chief CRBG National Bank of Pakistan, Mr. Mudassir Khan said that National Bank of Pakistan is committed to continue financial services delivery to the food and agriculture sector. Right now the sector is struggling in an operating environment due to little or no access to institutional credit, he said, adding that people associated with agriculture have to rely on unorganised channels for their credit requirements.
"Nestlé believes in the potential of the youth," said Waqar Ahmad, Nestlé Pakistan’s Head of Corporate Affairs, adding, "Prime Minister’s Youth Loan Programme will provide low-cost financing to the talented youth so that their potential can be realized and they can play their role in the development of the country." He said that company had Rural Development programmes as part of its philosophy of Creating Shared Value through which farmers and livestock workers are trained to help them increase milk production, income and to ensure a better life. Nestlé Pakistan also introduced an Executive Certificate in the Agri-business Management in collaboration with LUMS," he added.
Other representatives of NBP present included Mr. S. H. Irtiza Kazmi – EVP & Head of Cash Management & PMYBL Coordination, CRBG, Ms. Nageen Rizvi – VP & Unit Head Marketing & Promotions PMYBL, CRBG. Nestlé Pakistan was represented by Mr. John Davis – Head of Finance & Control, Mr. Naveed Khan – Head of Technical, Mr Nauman Khan – Head of Nestlé Professional and Mr. Zeeshan Suhail – Public Affairs Manager.