SME SECTOR IN TURMOIL DUE TO BOARDLESS SMEDA, DELAYED SME POLICY AND PANDEMIC

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) thanked Khusro Bakhtiar federal minister Production and Industries (MoP&I) for convening a meeting of key stakeholders on 15th September 2021 in Islamabad and conducting very earnest and sincere deliberations for the uplift of the sector and making efforts for finalizing the long delayed SME policy.
UNISAME also expressed thanks to PM Imran Khan for his keen interest in uplift of the underprivileged majority sector.
UNISAME president Zulfikar Thaver at the very outset invited the attention of the minister that SME promotion and development was not charity, It is the responsibility of the state to facilitate, support, motivate and encourage the sector. He lamented the delay in the finalization of the SME policy. He said the sector believes it is lethargy on the part of the government.
The minister invited suggestions from the participants about access to finance, infrastructure, industrial estates, tax incentives, cost of doing business, ease of doing business through simplification of rules and regulations and one window and the SME definition.
The minister was of the opinion that the microfinance banks (MFB) could play an important role and the limit of the MFB could be enhanced to enable them cater to the micro entrepreneurs and the small as well. He also raised a question about the difference in property valuation rates of the market and the District Commissioners assessment. Thaver replied that it is not an issue as banks have learnt to mortgage the whole property and unless the borrower repays the entire loan with markup the property cannot be redeemed.
Thaver said the stakeholders were impressed by the depth of understanding of the minister and appreciated his deep study of the sector.
He questioned the participants about the State Bank of Pakistan’s ( SBP) schemes of collateral free financing and about the ratio and proportion of SME financing and whether it is adequate for the sector.
Thaver replied that as long as the banks were not comfortable they would not finance the SMEs. The main reason being that the risk is of the banks although the money was of the SBP.
The participants urged the minister to set up a strong board of directors of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) which is without a board of directors for a long time. and to enhance its scope and size. Secondly they urged for industrial estates all over the country.
The participants from all the four provinces requested a prompt SME policy and priority for the sector.
The participants belonged to various segments namely textiles, rice, engineering and services and sought time from the minister for their specific requirements.
They also spoke about inflation and cost of energy and depreciation of rupee making imported raw materials costly.

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