SMEDA to launch business development programme this year

LAHORE: Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Chief Executive Officer Sher Ayub Khan on Wednesday envisaged that National Business Development Programme (NBDP) would be launched by SMEDA this year would mobilize an investment worth Rs 8 billion.

Addressing a meeting here at SMEDA Head Office, he added that the programme would facilitate over 3.14 million SMEs over a period of five years.

Under the NBDP, he elaborated that 3,800 training programmes would be organized to be supported with 761 over-the-counter documents on feasibility reports, regulatory procedures, HR and technology. The programme, he asserted, would also arrange 913 business startup grants and 500 international certifications, besides compiling 23 market research papers. A concrete plan bearing support services needed by the SMEs had been chalked out, and the plan included management development support, service acquisition support and favourable policy support, which were being demanded by the local SMEs since long time.

The SMEDA Chief pointed out that another important demand regarding access to finance had also be addressed under the programme that would be providing credit worthiness assessment support to over 9,500 SMEs to facilitate them having credits from the formal sources.

Sher Ayub Khan hoped that programme would enable local SMEs to make quantum leap in technology upgradation, capacity development and marketing linkages within and out of the country. In view of the access to valuable information on world trade and globalization of the SMEs to be done under the programme, he expressed the confidence that the SMEs would be able to increase Pakistan's share in the export markets to an optimal level by making an overall economic value-addition of about Rs 3.5 billion.

The programme would cost Rs 1.955 billion, out of which an amount of Rs 250 million had been allocated from the PSDP budget of 2017-18, CEO SMEDA added.