Unisame concerned over delay in SME Policy

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has invited the attention of Prime Minister Imran Khan towards the delay in the finalisation of the SME Policy and urged him to direct the policymakers to finalise it on a priority basis, a statement said.

Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver said that the Ministry of Industries and Production and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) have again invited key stakeholders on September 13, 2021 to discuss the SME Policy, incentives/facilitation to finalise the SME Policy.

Thaver said that the small and medium enterprises have failed to understand why the finalisation is taking years as the stakeholders are being invited to discuss the same issues again and again.

It seems the ministry and Smeda are gaining time due to the lack of financial support from the Ministry of Finance.

Apparently, the SME Policy is complete and it appears to be comprehensive and as such is the modified version of the SME Policy made by experts in 2007.

Thaver reiterated that the sector needs priority, access to affordable finance, sufficient and affordable energy, technical and marketing support, ease of doing business and reduction in the cost of doing business and good governance.

Additional requirements are an SME Gallery, Institute, Ombudsman and the SME economic zones/industrial estates and credit guarantee insurance schemes and it is believed that all these have been identified and incorporated in the draft policy document.

These matters are well-known to the bureaucracy and are on their fingertips, yet it is taking years to finalise the SME Policy, which is surely no rocket science.

It is high time the government realises that the delay is causing setback to the majority sectors, which are undoubtedly the backbone of the economy, he said.

The Unisame Council has urged the prime minister to direct the ministry to finalise the SME Policy and ascertain that all the reasonable demands of the sector are met and the policy ensures development of the underprivileged sector.