PM Shehbaz Orders Nationwide Strategy to Help SMEs Reach Global Markets
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to formulate a comprehensive nationwide strategy to provide financial assistance, technical support and greater access to global markets for Pakistan’s small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs.
The directives were issued during a review meeting in Islamabad examining initiatives being undertaken by SMEDA to facilitate SMEs and business owners.
The prime minister said promoting entrepreneurship and ensuring equal facilities and uniform technical assistance across all regions of Pakistan should be among SMEDA’s foremost institutional objectives.
The move comes as the government places greater emphasis on SMEs as part of its wider effort to increase exports, diversify Pakistan’s trade base and connect more domestic industries with international markets. A day earlier, Sharif called for export growth to become a foundation of Pakistan’s economic expansion and directed authorities to prepare more sectors for international trade.
Financial and Technical Support for Small Businesses
Sharif directed SMEDA to develop a comprehensive strategy covering financial support for SMEs and entrepreneurs throughout the country.
The plan should give equal attention to financing, technical capacity-building and business facilitation, according to the official account of the meeting.
SMEDA was also instructed to ensure its business-development strategy covers as many regions and economic sectors as possible rather than concentrating support in a limited number of industries or locations.
The government did not announce a new financing amount, lending rate or SME loan ceiling as part of Wednesday’s meeting. The announcement concerns the preparation and expansion of a strategy, so specific financial benefits should not yet be presented as approved new loan packages.
Digital Platforms to Connect SMEs With Global Markets
One of the key directives involves greater use of digital platforms to connect Pakistani entrepreneurs with domestic and international commercial markets.
Sharif instructed SMEDA to use digital channels effectively to expand market access for local businesses.
Officials told the meeting that work was already underway to study international best practices for increasing exports from industrial production linked to small businesses and expanding their reach into global markets.
SMEDA is working with relevant institutions on a coordinated strategy to achieve those objectives, according to the briefing.
Expanding international market access could be particularly significant for smaller Pakistani manufacturers and entrepreneurs that lack the distribution networks, technical resources or export infrastructure available to larger businesses.
PM Orders Expansion of Support for Women Entrepreneurs
The prime minister also ordered an expansion of SMEDA’s programme aimed at increasing women’s participation in small and medium-sized industries and businesses.
The directive places women’s entrepreneurship within the broader SME development strategy rather than treating it as a separate initiative.
No numerical target for women’s participation or additional funding allocation was announced in the available official statement.
Implementation details will therefore be important in determining the scale of the programme’s expansion.
Agricultural Businesses Included in Strategy
Sharif also called for special measures to improve production and trade linkages for agricultural commodities.
SMEDA was instructed to prepare a strategy aimed at better organising connections between agricultural production and commercial markets.
That direction could potentially broaden SME support beyond conventional manufacturing and services to businesses linked to agriculture, processing and trade.
However, the government has not yet released detailed commodity-specific targets or implementation timelines under the latest directive.
SMEs Linked to Pakistan’s Export Strategy
The SME initiative forms part of a wider government push towards export-led economic growth.
At a separate meeting on exports, Sharif directed authorities to bring more Pakistani industries into international trade, improve product quality to meet global standards, strengthen quality-assurance systems and increase value addition.
The government is also considering new free trade and preferential trade agreements with friendly countries to improve access for Pakistani products to overseas markets.
Earlier this month, Sharif directed authorities to identify obstacles encountered by SMEs at different stages of international trade and called for special measures to increase their participation in exports.
The latest SMEDA directive therefore connects three policy areas: small-business financing, capacity-building and export market access.
High-Level Officials Attend Meeting
The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema.
Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani, the prime minister’s adviser on trade Haroon Akhtar Khan, Prime Minister’s Youth Programme Chairman Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan and officials from relevant government institutions also attended.
Officials briefed the meeting that measures were being taken at different levels to strengthen SMEs and support entrepreneurs, while SMEDA was developing a coordinated strategy with other institutions.
The next significant development will be the details of SMEDA’s completed strategy — particularly funding mechanisms, eligibility criteria, implementation timelines, digital-market tools and measurable export targets. None of those details were specified in Wednesday’s announcement.
