UNISAME TO STRESS FOR COLLABORATION & JOINT VENTURES FOR SMEs

Apr 27, 2015 |
The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) invited the attention of Mukesh Kumar National Project Coordinator UNIDO Investment Promotion Unit a joint project of SMEDA and Italian Cooperation for Development to the need for sharpening risk management and collateral management which are the two sides of a coin.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver nominated as member board of directors of Advans Pakistan Microfinance Bank will be representing the sector at a consultative workshop on ” Credit Guarantee Scheme for SMEs in Pakistan ” at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on 28th April 2015 to stress the need of the sector for enhancing the scope of credit guarantee to make the banks comfortable in financing the SMEs.

He said the banks are financing the medium sector but not the small and therefore it is very important for the SBP to enhance the limit of financing by the micro finance banks to enable them finance the small sector which is excluded by the commercial banks and the micro finance banks cannot finance the small enterprises more than Rs 500000 which is the maximum limit for micro enterprises. Besides the ceiling of Rs 500000 there are other restrictions which need to be removed and the limit enhanced to Rs one million.

Thaver said the SME exporters are not able to export to third world countries and banks of low rating as the commercial banks are not discounting bills drawn on buyers of third world countries. Exports can only be increased by exporting non traditional goods to non traditional markets and most of the third world countries serve as good buyers of SME goods. The Credit Guarantee Scheme could play an important role in indemnifying the commercial banks and reducing the risk. This will go a long way in promoting exports and also promote domestic production.

He lamented that SME Bank which was established specifically for the sector is not strengthened to cater to the needs of the sector. He urged SBP not to merge it with any other bank but inject equity in the bank and with the help of professional let it stand on its feet by opening more branches and serving the sector.

He pointed out that the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) could play a very effective role in jointly developing products for SMEs through the Institute of Bankers (IBA) and facilitating the banks with ready made or tailored products for the benefit of the SMEs.

He suggested to the Unido Investment Promotion Unit to also work on forming an SME syndicate and arrange for collaboration and joint ventures with Italian companies to promote joint venture and collaboration in Pakistan.

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