Daily Times

Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Consultant Engineer Muhammad Aamir Qureshi on Saturday said that the Authority would help the SME sector adopt a successful business model to give a quantum jump to the industrial production with a focused approach to enhance innovative and diversified exports.

Addressing an awareness session at the All Pakistan Bedsheets and Upholstery Manufacturers Association (APBUMA) here, he said that Pakistani exports were entirely dependent on textile, which was 65 percent of its total exports, whereas, in other countries, the share of textile was hardly 2.5 percent.

Other countries have successfully diversified their export base to absorb any untoward economic shock or upheaval, he said and added that in order to facilitate the SME sector, the government had launched an innovative scheme to encourage individuals or SMEs with limited financial resources. He said that the entrepreneurs including women up to the age of 50 years could get a grant of Rs0.5 million to start their own businesses in which they have already experience or expertise. He quoted examples of various countries who have captured the global markets and said that Japan, within only 10 to 15 years after World War II, excelled in industrial production and its products were ruling the global economies. However, now this edge has been shifted to China because the Japanese Labour was costly whereas in China it was cheaper and the Chinese were competent enough to produce world-class products.

He said that 96 percent of people do not complain of defective products. “Only 4 percent who pinpoint such discrepancies must be appreciated as they are the well-wishers of the manufacturer because their identification help manufacturers to remove the discrepancies and further improve the quality of the products,” he said and added that renewable energy resources must be encouraged to save the world from horrifying climatic changes. He also underlined various techniques to start innovative businesses and said that the first comers always earn hefty profits and hence young and talented entrepreneurs must prefer innovative products instead of following the traditional course. He also advised them to aggressively use social media for the promotion of their products.

Earlier, Arif Ihsan Malik, Central Chairman APBUMA, introduced his organization and said that it was the largest elected body of the SME sector across the country. He said that generally, such associations have two main objectives; the first is to resolve the issues of its members and the second is to educate them to adopt innovative business techniques to excel in their businesses.

He welcomed the participants as well Imran Mehmood Sheikh, senior vice president of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was also present.