Islamabad (Turkiye News) An important review meeting on the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where progress on the implementation of government directives by SMEDA was reviewed.
Addressing the meeting, the Prime Minister said that small and medium enterprises possess immense potential for strengthening the national economy and increasing exports. He added that Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar and the SMEDA team are working on an emergency basis to facilitate easy loans, digital financing, inclusion in the formal economy, and access to export markets, which is a positive development.
The Prime Minister termed the roadmap prepared by SMEDA and the Ministry of Industries and Production satisfactory and directed that a practical action plan with achievable targets within a specified timeframe should be presented. He also instructed commercial banks to further improve measures for providing easy loans to SMEs.
During the meeting, Shehbaz Sharif directed that agriculture-related processing sectors should also be given SME status and appreciated the measures taken to enhance women’s participation. He said steps should be made more effective to improve women’s access to easy financing and increase exports of their products.
The meeting was briefed by SMEDA, the Ministry of Industries and Production, and the State Bank of Pakistan. It was informed that, in line with the Prime Minister’s directives, work is underway on 48 different initiatives across eight strategic sectors for SME development, with phased targets to be achieved over the next two to four years.
