Karachi:Zulfikar Thaver, president of the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) on behalf of himself and the union thanked prime minister (PM) Imran Khan for appointing an SME expert namely Hashim Raza as CEO SMEDA and also taking cognisance and deep interest in the SME sector and giving it due consideration.
Thaver said in view of the PM’s concern we have taken liberty to inform him about our specific requirements to enable him to direct the concerned ministries to facilitate the sector promptly.
The UNISAME experts pointed out that the SMEs need:
Firstly friendly policies with access to finance at affordable rates, affordable uninterrupted energy, substantial reduction of duty on raw materials, technical support for modernization/upgradation.
Also marketing support, land at concession and repayment under pay as you earn basis.
They need facilities for e-commerce and related merchant accounts gateway facilities.
They also urged strengthening of SMEDA, TDAP, PCSIR EDB, SME Bank for full-fledged SME promotion and development and above all friendly policies for reasonable rational taxation.
Thaver said sector priority for development from grass root level of primary then secondary and tertiary (services) sectors is most essential.
Thaver also urged Abdul Hafeez Shaikh the finance adviser (FA) to PM to kindly take prompt measures for funding the SME promotion and development on fast track.
UNISAME looks forward to fast track growth under PM Imran Khan and his finance adviser Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Raza Baqir the governor of State Bank of Pakistan and Abdul Razzak Dawood adviser Commerce, Investment and Industries and sincerely hopes they will give the sector top priority as the situation is very tough and challenging.