According to SMEDA's recent report, implementation of the plan was one part of the SME development equation, much of the work was done in the cluster and business facilitation domains. Only last year, over 7,000 SMEs were provided direct services besides mobilising private investment of Rs 1.25 billion through SMEDA efforts across various sectors.
Training programs and capacity building initiatives in various business areas were conducted with over 6,500 participants. Sports Industries Development Center, (SIDC) Sialkot, a state of the art infrastructure facility began its operations and is now providing services to the sports goods manufacturing sector while demonstrating new technology adoption in sports goods manufacturing, the report added.
Since SMEs have a pervasive presence across various economic sectors, SMEDA has prioritised thirteen (13) sectors for its development interventions. Firm and industry value chain analyses in context of the domestic and international business environment was carried out for each sector, identifying game changers that can transform the entire dynamic of the sector and accrue benefits across the entire spectrum of the value chain. Thus, adopting a programmatic approach, interventions for each sector have been identified in the areas of policy & regulations, access to finance, business development services and infrastructure and networking.
While commenting on the SMEDA's working strategy, General Manager, Business and Sector Development Division, Fuad Hashim, said that SMEDA has been operating on both the demand and supply sides of the SME development equation besides striving hard to develop the capacity of SMEs to benefit from the development support provided by the public sector.
On the other hand, it has also been advocating with the government to undertake development interventions for SME growth, he said and added that despite a very low budget and limited pool of human resources, SMEDA had performed a good job to facilitate new start-ups and to support growth of existing SMEs through a three pronged operational strategy; i) facilitating creation of a conducive business environment, ii) developing clusters and sectors through value chain analyses iii) providing business facilitation and support through a comprehensive product and service portfolio.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017