Daily Times

KARACHI: Empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with modern business techniques, training and access to potential investors for economic growth is the need of the hour.

The economic share of SMEs stands more than 65 percent in the total industrial, trade and business activity in the country has a large chunk in providing employment and development sub-sectors.

Helping existing SMEs and especially young entrepreneurs setting new businesses and most of them are in need of technical and liquidity would give impetus in progression and economic development.

The move of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) on launching a nationwide Intensive Business Clinics (IBC) for youth and new entrants would help in improving quality of business models and equipping the young entrepreneurs with much needed skills, knowledge, and information, for nurturing entrepreneurship venture, while developing productive linkages with technical experts.

The business people of prime export-oriented associations while hailing this initiative of UNIDO have appreciated valuable initiative such programme.

Pakistan Tanners Association’s Agha Saiddain, Ghulam Rabani of Pakistan Yarn Merchants Association, Ibrahim Qureshi of All Pakistan Business Forum and Sanaullah Khan Marble and Onyx sector association were of the view that this initiative of UNIDO was a great step towards progress of Pakistani youth. Such initiatives and training would promote SMEs with affordable solutions and would enable SMEs young people to achieve a better and more resilient economy.

UNIDO carried out an IBC in Lahore, which provided training to SMEs and start-up businesses, who qualified as semi-finalists under Global CleanTech Innovation Program (GCIP) Call for Awards 2017.

GCIP in Pakistan is aimed focusing towards fostering promising and viable clean-technology startups to fuel green industrial growth.

With an intention to support comprehensive and sustainable industrial development, UNIDO has partnered with Global Environment Facility to tackle concurring global environmental challenges. In the first week of October 017, a similar IBC will be organised in Islamabad and another IBC in Karachi afterward.

Published in Daily Times, September 29^th 2017.