PM chairs meeting on SMEDA business plan, calls SMEs backbone of economy

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif Monday chaired a high-level meeting to review the business plan of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) aimed at promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country.

During the meeting, a comprehensive three-year roadmap for the development and promotion of SMEs was presented. The prime minister appreciated Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar and the newly elected Board of Directors of SMEDA for preparing what he described as a workable and effective plan.

“Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the country’s economy,” the prime minister said, adding that there is significant potential to increase domestic exports through the development of the SME sector.

He directed relevant institutions to expedite measures for providing loans to SMEs on easy terms through banks and other financial institutions, stressing the need to improve access to finance for small businesses.

A detailed briefing was given on the challenges faced by SMEs and the proposed action plan to address these issues. The briefing also covered strategies to integrate SMEs into domestic exports, initiatives to introduce Pakistan’s SME sector to global markets on a competitive basis, and steps to strengthen international cooperation.

The meeting was informed that several capacity-building workshops had recently been organized in six cities to support domestic SMEs. In addition, work is underway on multiple training programs to prepare SMEs for global competition.

Officials also briefed the prime minister on initiatives aimed at enabling women to actively participate and play a meaningful role in the SME sector.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar, Governor State Bank Jamil Ahmed, chief secretaries of all four provinces as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, newly elected members of the SMEDA board, and senior officers of relevant institutions.