Ehsaas Interest free loan (IFL)was one of the first programmes to be launched in the series of Ehsaas programme launches which ran all through 2019 to 2022. 

Ehsaas IFLs is part of the poverty graduation approach under the Ehsaas Strategy. The graduation initiative aims to reduce dependence of the population at the bottom of the economic pyramid on social safety nets and helps to bring this population into the mainstream of economic development and financial inclusion”—in other words, this approach is the ladder to prosperity. IFL have been executed by NGOs supported by Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund.

 Any Pakistani aged between 18-60 years belonging to 123 districts (the information and list of which is available on the website https://www.ppaf.org.pk/NPGI can apply for interest free loans. 

The Interest Free Loan Programme was a major component of the National Poverty Graduation Initiative. With the launch in July 2019, the intervention rolled out in over 100 districts. 

When the Ehsaas IFL programme was launched, 80,000 interest free loans were disbursed every month. The range of the interest free loans was Rs. 20,000 – Rs. 75,000. As many as 3.8 million interest free loans were meant to be provided for the 4 years.

 In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the country, the programme progress slowed down due to lockdown induced slow business activities nationwide.

Later in February 2021, the scope of Ehsaas Interest Free Loan programme was expanded with an additional amount of Rs. 5 billion by the federal government. The programme now runs across 123 districts.

 To-date, 1.8 million loans worth Rs. 64.5 billion have been disbursed (50% women), impacting 11.7 million people.

Overall, Ehsaas IFL is expected to impact 14.7 million people—with 50% women recipients, youth, persons with disabilities, transgender people, minorities and marginalized communities in lagging districts being given special access.