Daily Times

KARACHI: The development plan of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) for five-year ‘SME Development 2013-2018’ has failed to show any progression-success, business people asserted.

This had been pledged by the then Chief Executive Officer Sardar Ahmad Nawaz in 2013 that new five-year plan has been envisaged protection of interests of small and medium enterprises SMEs through professional monitoring, evaluation and by identifying research parameters.

SMEDA’s had pledge to help create 10 million new jobs, jack-up SMEs sector’s GDP by $120 billion and giving quantum jump of $48 billion to exports remained inconclusive, members of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry opined.

Ghulam Rabbani of Pakistan Yarn Merchants association, Sanaullah Khan of mining and onyx sector, Shakeel Ahmad of agriculture sector and members of Union of Small and Medium Enterprises were of the view that

SMEDA remained underdog in turning promise to bring changes in Facilitation Centres for small and medium businesses to act as resource base for providing expertise, information and statistics.

The growth of SME sector that had been ensured through better business environment and support services remained on average.

Energy efficiency, access to finance, cut in cost of doing business, creation of an enabling tax environment and availability of skilled labour has so far shown no any progress in the areas of prime focus.

SMEDA remained dull in initiating drive on coordinated and tailor-made manner for the promotion of entrepreneurship especially amongst fresh university graduates.

Issuance of SME White Paper on annual basis to review the progress remained on papers as a proposed plan.

The business people were of the view that SMEDA should have been played its role in order to give boost to the economy, especially small and medium size trade.

Food and fruits processing, agriculture and livestock and pharmaceutical sectors on the plan with a pledge to be promoted as these have huge growth potential remained unattended.

Unavailability of capital freely to SME sector remained dull and still SMEs are being hit hard as cash flow based lending was not available to them and only collateral based lending was done by commercial banks.

SMEDA should develop projects, which were meant not heavily dependent on electricity and gas, as improvement in energy situation would take a minimum of long years.

Setting up solar plants on pattern of India’s indigenously developing on solar panels and invertors has been remained a far cry.

India is manufacturing own dry batteries whereas Pakistan is lagging behind in this area despite much need. This is a high-end solution and only because of the costs we are not catching up with this technology.

SMEDA could not register in her name in evolving strategies to create awareness about economic issues to enable SMEs businesses to get global recognition.

SMEDA is still ion cross roads to develop a mechanism to certify Halal products as they have a huge export potential and could be great source of foreign exchange earning.

Either the research initiatives that are vital for small economy and outsource for an in-house capacity could not be built.