Rehan Shahid 
Jan 06, 2026
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed the relevant authorities to facilitate measures for providing loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on easy terms through banks and other financial institutions.
Chairing a high-level meeting regarding Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda), the premier commended Special Assistant Haroon Akhtar Khan and Smeda's newly elected board of directors for formulating a practical and effective plan.
During the meeting, a three-year roadmap for the promotion of SMEs was presented that briefed on the problems faced by the SMEs and the plan of action to address them.
"Small and medium enterprises are the backbone of the country's economy," said the premier, adding that "there is immense potential to increase the country's exports through the development of small and medium enterprises."
Moreover, the meeting covered ongoing steps to improve cooperation with different countries to launch Pakistan’s SME sector globally on a competitive basis. Several workshops have recently been conducted in six cities to increase the capacity of local SMEs, and various training programmes are underway to prepare small businesses for global competition.
Measures regarding the participation and active role of women in the SME sector were also discussed. It should be noted that the meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, SAPM Haroon, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad, the chief secretaries of all four provinces, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as the newly elected board members of Smeda and officials from relevant institutions.
