SMEDA facilitates 6500 clients, invests Rs 482 millions in Fiscal Year 2017

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has provided business development facilitation to over 6500 clients and investment of Rs 482 million during the financial year 2016-17, said annual report of the authority. During the year SMEDA completed the Phase I of Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) funded Economic Revitalization of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA (ERKF) Project. The project has been declared as the 3rd best project in an international competition held in Washington DC by the World Bank.
The project, a successfully executed grants programme over achieved its targets by 200% by disbursing grants to 1700 SMEs against the target of 850 SMEs. The project also created around 23,000 direct jobs in the region. In its efforts towards bridging the industry-academia gap and to promote a research culture for evidence based policy making in Pakistan, SMEDA successfully organized the 2nd International SME Conference at Lahore. The Conference saw participation of delegates from USA, UK, Japan, China and Turkey, among local participants from across Pakistan. The conference has emerged as a platform for interaction between stakeholders across the SME spectrum.
Similarly, during the year, the SMEDA also continued working towards strengthening linkages between its international development partners and various government organizations. Through its industry support initiative for enhancing productivity and energy efficiency, SMEDA in collaboration with JICA, has been able to realize energy savings of 866,347 KWh / year (Rs 10.4 million) and identified potential of 1,352,727 KWh /year (Rs 16.23 million). Through these interventions, only in a handful of SMEs units, demonstration of best energy efficiency practices are gaining ground in the SME sector.
The authority provides advisory services and facilitates SMEs through it four regional offices located at Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar and Karachi and Regional Business Centres (RBCs) throughout the country. These RBCs serve as a first-point of contract for SMEs and through its diverse product and service portfolio strives to address SMEs business development needs. During FY 2016-17 a total of six thousand, seven hundred and forty-two (6,742) SMEs including 4033 in Punjab, 1040 in Sindh, 177 in Balochistan and 995 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa respectively.
Similarly, eighteen (18) new pre-feasibility studies were developed and thirty-eight (38) pre-feasibility studies were updated. The newly developed pre-feasibility studies were included Fruit Dehydration Unit, Apple grading, waxing & packaging unit, leather footwear manufacturing unit, small hydropower generation unit-2MW, solar (PV) Power Backup Solution, Grapes Farm New Varieties, Limestone Processing Unit, Potato Powder and Flakes Manufacturing Unit, Olive Oil Extraction Unit, Leather Garments Manufacturing Unit, Fruit Pulping & Grading Unit, Mango Pulping & Extraction Unit, Met Footwear, Household Solar Solution Distribution, Modified CA Cold Storage, Bread Manufacturing Plant, Mineral Water Bottling Plant (100,000 GPD) and Media Production House. The authority during the year also prepared twenty-eight (28) business plans including the Weavers, Swat Trout Fish Feed Factory (CFC), Domail Cattle Feed Processing (CFC), Mineral Water 100,000 GPD, Bakery Confectionary Unit, Retail Shop & Franchise, CA Cold Storage 1,000 MT, PP Bags, Papaya Cultivation, Mineral Water10,000 GPD, CA Poultry Farm, Garment Retail Shop, Diagnostic Centre, International School, Steel Re-Rolling Mill, Steel Ice Boxing MFG Unit, Potato Powder and Flakes Manufacturing Unit, Olive Oil Extracting Unit , Fruits & Vegetable Pulping Unit and Warsak Mart respectively.
The SMEDA also developed cluster profiles to provide useful information regarding the dynamics of a particular cluster, including information pertaining to its location, number of units, technology levels, human resource availability and the opportunities for investment, based upon the indigenous endowment of the cluster. In this connection, SMEDA developed cluster profiles for Sohan Halwa Cluster-D I Khan and Flora Growers Cluster-Mansehra. Similarly, small investment projects profiles for Jams, Squash and Pickle making, Health & Nutrition Centre, Dental Clinic, Printing on Mugs and T-Shirts and Female Student Hostel.
Meanwhile, in order to assess the impact of interventions undertaken at cluster level, independent impact evaluation studies of Honey Cluster-Peshawar and Textile Weaving Cluster-Matta Mughal Khel have also been conducted during the last financial year.