Impact of the Kamyab Jawan Microfinance Program - Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme on Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan

Abstract

This study intends to evaluate the effect of the microcredit program with special reference to the Prime Minister’s Kamyab Jawan Program – Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) on enhancing economic prosperity and reducing poverty among loan beneficiaries in Pakistan. Microfinance is considered a substantial tool that facilitates poverty alleviation. A sample of 100 beneficiaries was selected from each of the experimental and control groups using convenience sampling, for 200 beneficiaries. In this study, the key variable included was microfinance as an independent variable. Basic needs, living standards, occupation (assessed by microfinance usage), and program satisfaction were the dependent variables. The linear regression analysis was employed to evaluate the impact of the youth entrepreneurship scheme on meeting necessities and raising living standards, along with microfinance usage to improve income levels. The key findings revealed that microfinance provided under the Kamyab Jawan Program-YES had a strong, positive correlation with poverty alleviation. This study may demonstrate more potent strategies for alleviating poverty. The findings of this study can be implemented by policymakers to develop comprehensive microfinance initiatives.