Sindh Enterprise Development Fund has extended the application deadline for its Enterprise Grant Scheme, giving eligible businesses more time to put their growth plans into action after the original September 15 cutoff approached. The scheme, launched under the European Union-funded Poverty Alleviation and Inclusive Development Across Rural Sindh programme in partnership with United Nations Industrial Development Organization, offers co-financed grants of up to Rs35 million per project, with SEDF and UNIDO jointly covering up to 70 percent of eligible project costs while applicants contribute at least 30 percent themselves.
The scheme supports eligible small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs, and cooperatives operating in five designated districts of rural Sindh, with priority given to projects in aquaculture and fisheries, water recycling and management, innovation and technology, and research and development. Women entrepreneurship is treated as a cross-cutting priority throughout the scheme rather than confined to a single standalone category, reflecting an intent to weave gender inclusion across every sector the grant supports rather than isolating it as a separate track.
Eligible districts remain Larkana, Thatta, Badin, Tharparkar, and Sujawal, areas that have historically received comparatively limited structured access to enterprise financing relative to Sindh’s larger urban centers. The scheme is open not only to existing businesses within these districts but also to investors from elsewhere in Pakistan willing to establish or operate enterprises there, widening the pool of potential applicants beyond local entrepreneurs alone and positioning the grant as a tool for drawing external investment into underserved rural areas.
To apply, prospective applicants must prepare a business plan and required documents before submitting through the SEDF Grant Portal, with the new deadline now set for September 30, 2026. Applicants with questions can reach the programme directly at egrants@sedf.gos.pk. The grant window operationalizes a EUR 3.04 million co-financing agreement signed between UNIDO and SEDF, with each partner contributing EUR 1.17 million and a further EUR 0.7 million expected from private-sector equity, anchoring the enterprise grant model within SEDF as an institution of the Sindh government aimed at channeling provincial and international resources into businesses capable of driving sustainable economic growth across rural Sindh.
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