Engineering Post Report
Globally, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered as an important pillar for poverty alleviation as they create jobs, increase standard of living and play critical role in ensuring equitable income distribution.
In Pakistan, SME sector contributes an estimated 40 per cent to the Gross Domestic product (GDP) and it holds tremendous potential for creating a positive impact on Pakistan’s economy. To enable SMEs in Pakistan to play their due role in national economic development, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has taken various initiatives towards fostering growth of SMEs through a broad service portfolio spread across various SME sectors and clusters. The organization has an all-encompassing mandate of fostering growth of the SME sector through its portfolio of services including business development services, infrastructure development through establishing common facility centres, industry support for productivity enhancement and energy efficiency, human capital development through its training programmes and SME related projects with national and international development partners.
According to SME Policy 2007, any enterprise with up to 250 employees and up to Rs 250 million annual sales comes under the definition Small and Medium Enterprises.
SMEDA is committed to support SMEs during ongoing onslaught of pandemic of COVID-19 and accordingly has launched a comprehensive programme of online SME clinic and webinars, training sessions, helpdesks and virtual meetings with key public and private stakeholders in order to facilitate businesses in such a critical time.
Incumbent federal government duly acknowledges the significance of SME sector and is making efforts to provide a level plying field for businesses by devising policies that are favourable for SMEs.
Way back in August 2020, the Prime Minister had constituted the National Coordination Committee on S<E development and promotion of SMEs in the country. In the second meeting of the NCC in October 2020, the Prime Minister had approved the National SME Policy Action Plan 2020 to provide much needed support to SMEs. The Plan 2020 as such focused on key areas including SME definition , access to finance, business development services, skills and human resource, technology, market access, infrastructure and entrepreneurship and provided extensive recommendations in each of the aforementioned areas.
