PM directs SMEDA to formulate strategy for financial assistance to SMEs

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has asked the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority to prepare a broad plan for financial help to smaller firms and entrepreneurs nationwide. The instruction came on Wednesday during a review chaired by the premier of ongoing SMEDA schemes that provide funding and facilities to such businesses, Mettis Global reported. Ministers, advisers and officials from relevant government institutions took part in the meeting, according to the report citing APP.

The premier wants the agency to treat entrepreneurship and equal access to technical support across all regions as a top institutional priority. He also called for expanding the programme that boosts women's involvement in small industries and businesses, and for digital platforms to link local entrepreneurs with domestic and overseas buyers. Special measures to organise production and trade links for agricultural commodities were ordered as well.

Officials were told that steps are being taken at every level to strengthen small industries, and that efforts are under way to lift exports of industrial goods tied to small businesses, following global standards. SMEDA, working alongside other relevant institutions, is drafting an integrated strategy for the sector.