LAHORE:A World Bank (WB) mission visited the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) to discuss ongoing SME development initiatives and explore opportunities for collaboration aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs), here on Saturday.
The World Bank (WB) delegation comprised Kiran Afzal, Senior Private Sector Specialist; Javier Sanchez-Reeza, Senior Economist; and Koan Martin Geven, Senior Economist. SMEDA’s senior management team, including Sheharyar Tahir, Raja Hassanein Javed, and Javed Afzal, attended the meeting.
During the meeting, Sheharyar Tahir briefed the visiting delegation on the key pillars of the SME Policy 2021 and its action plan, highlighting SMEDA’s ongoing initiatives under its three-year Business Plan. He explained that the plan places particular emphasis on underserved areas and aims to address the key challenges faced by SMEs through targeted development interventions.
The briefing covered priority areas including access to finance, export readiness, women entrepreneurship and microenterprise development, digitalization and e-commerce, the National Subcontracting Development Programme, and grant-based support for SME certifications. Initiatives relating to climate resilience and green finance were also highlighted as emerging areas of focus.
The World Bank team expressed interest in exploring potential collaboration with SMEDA in areas including access to finance, technology adoption, and skills development to enhance the competitiveness and growth potential of SMEs.
Both sides discussed possible mechanisms for formalizing their cooperation, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or other appropriate collaborative arrangements to support SME development in Pakistan.
The meeting provided an opportunity to exchange views on strengthening institutional cooperation and identifying practical avenues for expanding support to SMEs, particularly underserved enterprises, women-led businesses, and micro enterprises.