Sindh to devise its first ever SME Competitiveness Strategy
Currently there are 1,000,000 SMEs in Sindh and their contribution to the GDP is 30 percent.
Three-day consultation started in Karachi; SMEs attending the consultations from the agriculture, manufacturing, and services sector will analyze the performance in key economic sectors and provide insight to the challenges and opportunities.
Karachi
The Sindh Department of Industries and Commerce, in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC), has started multi-stakeholder consultations in Karachi from 1 to 3 November 2021 as part of the provincial government’s efforts to design Sindh’s first ever SME Competitiveness Strategy.
The consultations are initiating the design of the strategy, where SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) from the agriculture, manufacturing, and services sector are coming together to assess SME performance in key economic sectors, key challenges, and opportunities, and ultimately contributing to prioritizing areas of intervention for the SME Strategy.
Vice President, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr. Abdul Rehman Naqi attending the event said, ”A provincial strategy focused on building an enabling ecosystem for SMEs growth, innovation and regional competitiveness is the need of the hour. We are pleased that the Government of Sindh is actively seeking to enable the development of SMEs as drivers of employment and value addition for the province ”
The SMEs attending the consultations from the agriculture, manufacturing, and services sector will analyze the performance in key economic sectors and provide insight to the challenges and opportunities to steer the strategy making process all inclusive, and effective. Currently there are 1,000,000 SMEs in Sindh and their contribution to the GDP is 30 percent.
By considering the quantitative and qualitative findings on the challenges and opportunities for the sector, an holistic strategy will ensure SMEs receive better support and services to expand their business, but also create inclusive growth by enabling youth and women to be active in the work force. SMEs gave recommendations at the end of the session, which will enable the Strategy to assist them in resolving upcoming challenges such as climate change.
Acting Chief Secretary of Sindh Mr. Qazi Shahid Pervez said ‘’Keeping in view the growing contributions of the SMEs to Sindh’s economy, there is no denying their essential contribution to domestic led growth, job creation and value creation. While our government is implementing many initiatives to provide an business environment supportive of SMEs, this SME competitiveness strategy will be a key driver for our established and emerging industries to be more globally competitive’’
The SME Competitiveness Strategy will yield an action-oriented and precise framework, which does not stop at simply identifying broad objectives, but go into detailed activities, and targets, indicating exactly what needs to be done and by whom, within what time frame and with what resources. They will be instrumental in empowering the development of new policies, programs, and support initiative to enhance SME competitiveness. The objective is to develop a set of conducive ecosystems to strengthen and modernize Sindh’s SMEs, build up the entrepreneurship and innovation of the enterprises, and to reach SMEs across the province.
Further consultations and active engagement with all key stakeholders will continue over the coming months to ensure the final strategy responds to Sindh’s growth trajectory. The SME working group, chaired by the Chief Secretary, will steer the overall process to ensure rapid implementation of the strategic plans.
The development of the provincial SME Competitiveness Strategy is supported by the Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) project, an initiative funded by the European Union and implemented by ITC, working to uplift the business environment around SMEs in Sindh and Balochistan. (PR)
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