Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Emerge As Affordable Hub For Small Entrepreneurs

Unlike private markets where overheads cripple small vendors, PSBA provides an institutional guarantee of affordability, dignity, and sustainability

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Sept 13rd, 2025) In Pakistan, where job-seekers far outnumber job opportunities and inflation weighs down every household, one provincial initiative has quietly rewritten the rules of access to business and employment. The Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA), built on the transformation of the old Punjab Model Bazaars, is today the most affordable and government-backed incubator of entrepreneurship in the country. With stalls available at a token rent of Rs. 6,000 per month—a rate that already covers utilities, security, sanitation, and maintenance—and with as little as Rs. 20,000 required to start a small venture, the Authority has built a system where ordinary citizens can transition from job-seekers to job-owners. Unlike private markets where overheads cripple small vendors, PSBA provides an institutional guarantee of affordability, dignity, and sustainability.

The economics of this model are unmatched. In any private marketplace across Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, or Rawalpindi, stall rents start at Rs. 30,000 to 50,000 per month and often climb much higher. Utilities, janitorial services, waste management, and security are separate expenses, burdening entrepreneurs with costs that can double their rent. For a start-up or micro-enterprise, this is often prohibitive. By contrast, PSBA’s Rs. 6,000 all-inclusive fee undercuts private alternatives by a factor of 5–8 times, offering not just affordability but peace of mind: electricity is reliable, premises are clean, families feel safe, and vendors are shielded from arbitrary hikes or landlord disputes.

This affordability matters most for the segment of society that has historically been excluded from commercial opportunities—women entrepreneurs, small start-ups, home-based producers, and low-capital SMEs. PSBA has reserved stalls specifically for such groups, creating a safe and dignified space for them to operate. Family-friendly features such as children’s play areas, robust security, and orderly maintenance have further changed the public perception of government-run markets. What was once regarded as a failing, stagnant project has now become the province’s most vibrant grassroots employment hub.

The entry barrier has been lowered to the point where entrepreneurship is accessible to virtually everyone. With Rs. 20,000 working capital, a vendor can stock fresh produce, groceries, or household staples and begin trading the very next day. Essentials at Sahulat Bazaars are priced on average 35% cheaper than the open market and 7% lower than the Deputy Commissioner–notified rates, meaning footfall is guaranteed. Verified data shows consumers saved Rs. 73.61 million by shopping at Sahulat Bazaars compared to open markets, and an additional Rs. 14.72 million when compared to official notified prices. That consumer trust translates into turnover for vendors—turnover that replenishes stock, generates cash flow, and sustains household income without the drag of high overheads.

The scope of PSBA’s entrepreneurial platform is vast. On average, each bazaar houses 150 stalls. With 36 bazaars operational and 13 more under construction, that is already 7,350 active business units with infrastructure in place. The ADP 2025–26 allocation of Rs. 10 billion guarantees expansion to 100 tehsils, doubling the network to 15,000 entrepreneurial units. With each unit supporting an average household of six people, PSBA bazaars indirectly sustain 90,000 people today, and will support close to 540,000 citizens when the 100-bazaar mandate is complete. This is household-level transformation at scale, achieved not through subsidies but through an incubator model that fuses government infrastructure with private initiative.

But PSBA is more than just physical stalls. It has built a multi-channel retail ecosystem that maximizes vendor reach. The Free Home Delivery (FHD) service, fully digital and subsidy-free, processed 20,365 orders worth Rs.

210 million between July 2024 and July 2025. Consumers placed 163,850 orders via the mobile app, with monthly volumes peaking at 24,000 orders and Rs. 20 million in sales. Township Bazaar alone recorded Rs. 26 million in delivery sales, and Islampura crossed Rs. 13 million. For vendors, this means income streams that extend far beyond walk-in customers; their stalls become hubs feeding digital orders, multiplying turnover without requiring additional capital investment.

The “Sahulat on the Go” fleet adds another dimension to the incubator model. With Rs. 675 million in funding, this mobile market system delivers essentials directly to dense neighborhoods, expanding market reach without the need for permanent infrastructure. For vendors, it is an opportunity to tap new customer bases through government-backed logistics, ensuring their business models remain flexible and adaptive to changing consumer needs.

PSBA’s operational prudence ensures that the incubator model is not dependent on government subsidies. Solarization of bazaars has been a game-changer: the pilot at Township cut monthly electricity bills from Rs. 1,000,000 to Rs. 100,000, a tenfold saving. By rolling out solarization across all 36 operational bazaars and 13 under construction, PSBA is lowering long-term costs, insulating vendors from tariff shocks, and building environmental responsibility into its economic model. This means that when a stallholder invests Rs. 20,000 in stock and pays Rs. 6,000 in rent, they are entering a system whose sustainability has been engineered into its very design.

For Pakistan’s youth, the implications are transformative. Every year, hundreds of thousands of graduates enter the labor force, chasing scarce public jobs or precarious private employment. The result is underemployment, frustration, and brain drain. PSBA offers an alternative: for the cost of a job-seeker’s monthly expenses, you can own your own stall, run your own business, and sustain your own household. With government backing, minimal risk, and guaranteed footfall, this is entrepreneurship with training wheels. It is the cheapest, safest, and most accessible path to employment and dignity available in the country today.

This is why PSBA is increasingly described by policymakers and media as a replicable national model. Federal ministries are already studying its mobile-market and digital delivery systems. Its 84% compliance rating from the Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy and FBR-certified tax-exempt status have made it a governance success story—rare in a public sector often criticized for inefficiency.

The Authority is not stopping here. The next phase includes AI-enabled vendor registration, digitized subsidy tracking, and real-time price dashboards. These innovations will not only make the bazaars smarter but also make it even easier for new entrepreneurs to join, grow, and scale. Each layer of modernization strengthens the incubator model, ensuring that it remains both inclusive and future-ready.

At its heart, the PSBA model is about ownership. It shifts the narrative from waiting for jobs to creating them, from dependence to independence. Each stall is not merely a counter of goods; it is a platform of dignity. Each Rs. 20,000 investment is not a risk but a springboard into entrepreneurship. Each Rs. 6,000 rent is not an expense but a comprehensive guarantee of utilities, security, and services—backed by the government’s commitment to protect small traders.

Punjab did not just build bazaars; it built a public entrepreneurship ecosystem. It created an environment where thousands of ordinary citizens can become business owners with the lowest capital, lowest risk, and highest security in Pakistan. In a time when economic uncertainty dominates headlines, PSBA has offered a different story: a province-wide incubator where stalls become startups, households become businesses, and markets become engines of grassroots prosperity.