Prime Minister Sharif orders SME financing doubled by 2028 — Dawn
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, at a meeting in Islamabad, ordered an increase in financing for small and medium-sized enterprises from 1.1 trillion to 2.2 trillion Pakistani rupees by 2028. In his assessment, the sector has significant potential to accelerate economic development and create business opportunities in the country, Dawn reports.
Access to loans
Sharif chaired a meeting on the work of Pakistan’s Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, SMEDA. He said that reforms at the agency should support entrepreneurs and make it easier to establish and expand businesses.
The prime minister instructed SMEDA to prepare a comprehensive plan to inform citizens about procedures for obtaining business loans and to strengthen the promotion of entrepreneurship. He separately stressed the need to support residents of underdeveloped areas, which, he said, would help reduce migration to major cities and ensure more balanced development of the country.
The agency must also commission, with the involvement of industry experts, feasibility studies for establishing small and medium-sized enterprises in various sectors. They are planned to be made available in local languages. SMEDA is being transformed into a platform for training future entrepreneurs and facilitating their access to bank financing.
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Training and digital services
SMEDA offices are being opened in Pakistan to expand access to services, while an artificial intelligence-based help desk is also being developed to provide information and consultations in local languages. SMEDA signed a memorandum with Alibaba, under which 10,000 small and medium-sized enterprises are to receive training over two years. The agency’s digital portal is also being updated.
IT park in Islamabad
At another meeting, Sharif ordered the transformation of Daanish IT Park in Islamabad into a world-class technology hub and a center of a modern IT ecosystem through cooperation between educational institutions and industry. The Ministry of Information Technology is to conduct a comprehensive study of the project, while the park is planned to be launched in partnership with global technology companies. The prime minister also ordered an independent audit of the project.
Meeting participants were informed that 50 private buildings had been converted into technology parks under the Pakistan Software Export Board. The country has also established eight incubation centers for startups and launched 105 coworking spaces for IT professionals.
