Daily Times

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has urged all financing institutions to refrain from using the word ‘poor’ for the micro sector and instead use the internationally approved word ‘underprivileged’ for it.

The micro entrepreneurs being businesspersons involved in commercial activity dislike the word poor and consider it improper, UNISAME President Zulfikar Thaver said in a statement on Saturday. “The definition of a poor person in financial circles is one whose income is not taxable, but it is pertinent to note that 90% of the people have come under the tax net due to cellular facilities used by them,” he added.

He requested the concerned not to make this an issue as micro sector is facilitated by digital banking and is paying taxes. “It should not be referred all the time as a disorganised sector. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is in a position to know what each CNIC holder is paying as tax,” he affirmed.

Thaver, who is also the chairman of working group of capacity building under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), said in the forthcoming 10th Microfinance Conference to be held on October 4, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) would be urged to raise the limit of financing of microfinance banks to Rs one million in order to enable the microfinance banks to finance the small entrepreneurs, as the commercial banks were financing the medium sector but not the small businessmen, who were left without the facilities of financing.

He said that the mark up rate must be on declining basis and not flat rate in order to lessen the burden on micro entrepreneurs who can ill afford to pay such high rates. If the microfinance banks increase their productivity and portfolio at risk-by-risk management and verification efficiency, it would increase their profitability. He also urged the microfinance banks to accept social collateral and guarantees of trade and cottage associations.

He appreciated the concept of Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSME) banks and said it would include the SMEs in the microfinance system but it is important that the limit is increased to one million without caps to enable the small to avail the facilities. He said it is pertinent to note that digital financing has made life easy for the micro sector while Pakistan is leading in Asia in digital financing. Nevertheless, he added, there is a scope for microfinance banks but their footprints are already seen in urban and rural areas, financing the bottom line of the pyramid, which is the majority sector and deserves the best attention of the policymakers.

He said UNISAME experts in microfinancing would advocate the cause of the sector from the hawker to the cottage industries and also home-based units run by women. “They need finance at affordable mark up on pay as you earn schemes with dignity and respect, which is the theme of the NFIS to ensure that every segment is included in access to finance,” he concluded.