PM Shehbaz orders SME financing doubled to Rs2.2tr by 2028

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the authorities to double financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Rs1.1 trillion to Rs2.2 trillion by 2028, saying the sector has the potential to drive growth and create business opportunities across the country.

Presiding over a meeting on the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) on Monday, the prime minister said the business community was the backbone of any economy and that Pakistan’s SME sector had immense potential to speed up development, Dawn reported, citing a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Loans, awareness and local languages

He said the ongoing reforms at Smeda were aimed at empowering small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and making it easier for them to set up and expand businesses.

The prime minister gave Smeda a set of instructions:

• Loans: draw up a comprehensive plan to teach more people how to obtain business loans
• Awareness: take effective steps to promote entrepreneurship
• Feasibility studies: commission studies for setting up SMEs in different sectors with industry experts, and publish them in local languages so aspiring entrepreneurs across the country can use them

He said empowering people in less developed areas would help reduce migration to big cities and contribute to balanced national development.

Reforms at Smeda

The meeting was briefed on ongoing reforms at the authority:

• Outreach: Smeda offices are being set up across the country
• AI helpline: an artificial intelligence-based helpline is being developed to guide citizens in local languages
• Alibaba deal: a memorandum of understanding with global e-commerce company Alibaba will see 10,000 SMEs trained over two years
• Digital portal: reforms are under way to make Smeda’s online portal more effective and easier to use

Daanish IT Park to be audited

At a separate meeting, the prime minister directed authorities to turn the Daanish IT Park in Islamabad into a world-class technology hub through collaboration between academia and industry.

He instructed the Ministry of Information Technology to carry out a comprehensive case study of the project, make the park operational in partnership with global technology companies, and ordered a third-party audit. Officials said global technology companies were being approached to help run the park.

The government would keep working to equip young Pakistanis with skills in information technology, artificial intelligence and financial technology, he said, and to create new opportunities for IT entrepreneurs.

The IT ecosystem in numbers

The meeting was told about plans to build an ecosystem to boost IT exports and investment:

• 50 privately owned buildings have been upgraded into software technology parks under the Pakistan Software Export Board
• 8 incubation centres have been set up across the country to support start-ups
• 105 co-working spaces are operating for IT professionals

Why it matters

The prime minister has tied small business growth to new opportunities and to development outside the big cities. Doubling SME financing, and explaining in local languages how to get it, is aimed at bringing more entrepreneurs into the formal economy. Read our report on the government’s privatisation and growth plans.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and the Prime Minister’s Office.