The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) board reviewed proposed amendments to the SMEDA Ordinance 2002, the process for appointing a new chief executive officer, and the SME Formalization initiative during its 32nd meeting held under the chairmanship of Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan.
According to an official statement, the meeting was attended by Secretary Ministry of Industries and Production Saif Anjum, SMEDA CEO Socrat Aman Rana, Chief (Law & Clarification) FBR Masood Akhtar, Joint Secretary (Expenditure) Ministry of Finance Iffat Malik, Executive Director General Ministry of Commerce Muhammad Ashraf, and private sector members Aasia Saail Khan, Dr Syed Zahoor Hassan, Mashood Khan, and Osman Saifullah Khan.
Addressing the board, Haroon Akhtar reiterated the prime minister’s commitment to strengthening the SME sector and highlighted SMEDA’s key role in industrial growth and employment generation.Â
He directed SMEDA to launch a nationwide awareness campaign on government incentives for registered SMEs and to accelerate efforts to bring more enterprises into the formal economy through the SME Registration Portal.
The SAPM said long-term financing for SMEs has been made part of the upcoming Industrial Policy and that a high-level committee, chaired by the finance minister, has been formed to develop industrial financing mechanisms.
SMEDA CEO Socrat Aman Rana informed the board that 13 amendments to the SMEDA Ordinance 2002 have been proposed to streamline inter-ministerial coordination and expedite approvals for SME-related incentives. He also briefed the meeting on SMEDA’s participation in the launch of the OIC SME Network (OIC-SMENET) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Pakistan’s first participation at BIOPROM-2025, Russia’s biotechnology and pharmaceutical trade fair.
The CEO expressed gratitude to the SAPM and the Ministry of Industries and Production for their continued guidance and support in expanding Pakistan’s SME ecosystem and international linkages.
