Business & Finance Print edition: 2026-03-06

SMEDA, AJK WCCI agree to boost women-led enterprises

Published March 6, 2026 Updated March 6, 2026 07:28am

2 min

By Recorder Report

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LAHORE: A high-level meeting between the leadership of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and the AJK Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry have agreed to implement a join action plan for strengthening women-led enterprises in Azad Jammu & Kashmir by integrating them into formal economy.

The meeting was held under the SME Development Vision of the Prime Minister to be implemented by the Ministry of Industries and Production through SMEDA for promoting underserved sectors of MSMEs, especially the women entrepreneurs. The SMEDA delegation was led by Chief Executive Officer Nadia Jahangir Seth, accompanied by Raja Hassanien Javed, Chaudhry Rukhsar and Muhammad Javed Afzal, while the Women Chamber delegation was headed by President Sidra Azad. Members of the Chamber’s Board of Governors present at the meeting included Tayyaba Bukhari, Khizra Manzoor, Haleema Bibi, Nadia Habib, Umber Adil and Momina Batool. Muhammad Zahid Khan also attended the session. CEO SMEDA Nadia Jahangir Seth reaffirmed SMEDA’s commitment to inclusive SME development across Pakistan, emphasizing that women’s economic empowerment remains central to achieving sustainable and broad-based economic growth. Speaking on the occasion, Sidra Azad described the collaboration as a major milestone for women entrepreneurs in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. She said the institutional support from SMEDA will provide women-led businesses with technical assistance, business development services and market linkages needed to scale up their enterprises.

Both sides held detailed discussions on creating a supportive ecosystem for women entrepreneurs and agreed to focus on sectors with strong growth potential, including textile and apparel production, traditional cuisine and hospitality services, handicraft and cottage industries, and emerging creative and digital enterprises.

To ensure effective implementation of the agreed initiatives, the two institutions decided to establish a Joint Working Group that will hold regular follow-up meetings under defined timelines to advance programs related to capacity building, enterprise development and improved market access.

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