Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed to increase the total financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Rs1.1 trillion to Rs2.2 trillion by 2028, underscoring their potential to drive economic growth and create business opportunities across the country.
PM Shehbaz directs doubling of SME financing to Rs2.2 trillion by 2028
ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed to increase the total financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Rs1.1 trillion to Rs2.2 trillion by 2028, underscoring their potential to drive economic growth and create business opportunities across the country.
Chairing a meeting on the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), the prime minister said the business community was the backbone of any country’s economy, while Pakistan’s SME sector had immense potential to accelerate economic development, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.
He said the ongoing reforms at SMEDA were aimed at empowering small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and facilitating the establishment and expansion of businesses.
The prime minister emphasised the need to empower people in underdeveloped areas, saying it would help reduce migration from these regions to major cities and contribute to balanced national development.
He said providing people in less-developed areas with opportunities to establish businesses in different sectors would promote local economic activity, development and prosperity.
The prime minister directed SMEDA to formulate a comprehensive plan to educate a greater number of people about procedures for obtaining business loans and take effective measures to raise public awareness about entrepreneurship.
He also instructed the authority to commission feasibility studies for establishing SMEs in various sectors through relevant industry experts and make them available in local languages. The initiative, he said, would enable aspiring entrepreneurs across the country to benefit from the studies.
During the meeting, the prime minister was briefed on ongoing reforms at SMEDA and measures being taken to promote the SME sector.
The meeting was informed that SMEDA was being transformed into a central platform to provide training to aspiring entrepreneurs and facilitate their access to bank financing for establishing businesses.
The briefing noted that SMEDA offices are being established across the country to improve outreach and access to services.
The authority was also developing an artificial intelligence-based helpline to provide information and guidance to citizens in local languages.
The meeting was further informed that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between global e-commerce company Alibaba and SMEDA under which 10,000 SMEs would receive training over a period of two years.
The officials briefed that reforms were also underway to improve the effectiveness and user-friendliness of the SMEDA digital portal.
The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Jam Kamal Khan, Dr Musadik Masood Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar and Chaudhry Salik Hussain; Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani; Prime Minister’s Adviser Haroon Akhtar; Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan; and senior officials of the relevant departments.
