PM URGED TO DECLARE 2020 AS YEAR OF SMEs

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has urged prime minister (PM) Imran Khan to declare 2020 as the year of the SMEs and give priority to the sector as the sector needs to face the challenges as it is badly affected by instability and high cost of doing business and needs to be facilitated, encouraged and stimulated.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said first of all we urge the PM to have a separate ministry for the micro to medium sized sector (MSME) for focused strategy being majority sector and secondly to approve the SME policy lying on his desk since long and direct its implementation right away. The slow pace is harming the suvival of the sector. A stitch in time saves nine Thaver said.
Thirdly to appoint the chief executive of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) without any further delay.
The other important high impact actions required are to set up the promised institutions and commence their functions immediately namely the SME Export House, the SME Technical Institute and the SME Ombudsman all are badly needed.
Those institutions which have already been established need to begin their functions like the Credit Guarantee Insurance.
The sector needs an SME Liaison committee just like the Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) for SME units for collective protection.
The UNISAME council has asked for the inclusion of SME farmers in the fold of SMEDA to educate the farmers in modernization of their farms and to add value to their produce.
The commercial banks need training in risk management to meet the needs of the sector.
The efforts of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) are much appreciated for creating awareness for their schemes but the commercial banks are not inclined to take risk due to lack of training in risk management.
The collateral management companies need to play an important role and the council has pinpointed this to the SBP and SECP.
The UNISAME council has urged all stakeholders namely SMEDA, SBP, SECP, Commercial banks, Microfinance banks and other financial institutions to roll up their sleeves for fast track promotion and development of the MSMEs.

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