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SMEs

PM Shehbaz directs authorities to increase loan amount

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PM Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD:  Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif directed to increase the loan amount under the Prime Minister Youth Program.

A review meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the issues of small and medium business in which the relevant authorities briefed Shehbaz Sharif.

The Prime Minister directed the authorities to complete a detailed survey soon to provide facilities to small and medium businesses and to increase the loan amount from 0.5 million to 1.5 million under the Prime Minister Youth Program.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that in order to harmonize the facilities with international requirements, it should be ensured that the models of developed countries are applied, a special package should be created for women entrepreneurs in small scale business and it should be presented soon.

Shehbaz Sharif said that Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are of key importance in the development of the economy worldwide, the government is trying to empower youth and women entrepreneurs, youth and women not only earn self-employment but also create more employment opportunities.

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Alibaba launches Trade Assurance in Pakistan

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Alibaba launches Trade Assurance in Pakistan

Alibaba, the global business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce giant, has officially launched its Trade Assurance service in Pakistan to support local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The announcement was made during the 2025 Alibaba.com Pakistan Supplier Export Summit held in Sialkot, an industrial hub known for its production excellence. Ikram Ul Haq, President of the Sialkot Chamber … Read more

PM calls for SMEs capacity building to enhance profitability

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PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed the authorities concerned to take measures for the capacity building of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to enhance their profitability.

The prime minister, who chaired a meeting of the steering committee of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, said that steps to boost SMEs exports was inevitable for national economy.

The prime minister, who was briefed about the strategy for uplifting the SMEs, called them the engine of national development and instructed the immediate operationalisation of the SMEDA Board.

Prime Minister Shehbaz highlighting the role of women in national economy, asked the authorities concerned to include women entrepreneurs in the decision making related to the SMEs.

He also called for raising the standards of export products at par with international practices and engage the experts of international repute to uplift the SMEs sector.

The prime minister was also briefed about the measures to make SMEs profitable, their access to easy loans, promotion of SMEs exports, facilitation of women in SMEs and their cohesion with the climate change.

It was told that climate change would be tackled by introducing technology of manufacturing textile products using the recycled material.

The government would assist the SMEs to have an access to easy loans to make them start new business.

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Pakistan introduces national credit guarantee company for SMEs

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national credit guarantee company

Islamabad: The Ministry of Finance and Industry has introduced Pakistan’s first specialized credit guarantee company for SMEs. A partnership was formed between the Ministry of Finance and Karandaz Pakistan to establish the National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGCL). It was informed at the event that NCGCL will help in financing small and medium enterprises in … Read more

Unisame urges PM to explore SMEs potential

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Unisame

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has invited the attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the destiny of Pakistan and can bring about a betterment in the economy and must be facilitated, supported and encouraged in such challenging times, a statement said on Saturday. … Read more

Unisame perturbed over slow pace of reforms

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Unisame

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) is perturbed over the slow pace of the ministries of industries and production, commerce and finance in taking reforms to overcome the tedious situation being faced by the micro to medium sector (MSMEs), a statement said on Monday. Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver lamented that the Small … Read more

Dubai’s ambitious IPO plans on course for 2023

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IPO
  • Dubai has defined several projects to aid this growth.
  • Dubai accounted for 40% of IPO activity in the Gulf area last year, totaling Dh673 billion.
  • The goal as part of D33 is to identify 400 high-potential enterprises.

Dubai: The recently published Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) goals have fueled the city’s readiness for more IPO listings from state-owned and private firms.

“Despite the many challenges faced, we saw robust GDP growth and several other positive indicators, including growth in trade and tourism sectors,” said Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. “Ultimately, the majority of the progress in any economy comes from growth within the private sector. However, the government still plays a role, and Dubai has defined several projects to aid this growth.”

He was speaking at the inaugural MENA IPO Summit, which kicked off on Monday (January 23).

Dubai accounted for 40% of IPO activity in the Gulf area last year, totaling Dh673 billion. According to Al Marri, the D33 has established a clear route for businesses and investors. Dubai is one of the few cities in the area that helps companies grow from SMEs to large-scale enterprises by providing simple access to financing markets, he noted.

DFM’s goal as part of D33 is to identify 400 high-potential enterprises to enhance the capacity-building capacities of SMEs and assist them in becoming global brands.

Mohammad Al Bastaki, CEO of Emirates NBD Capital, stated during a session that he is certain that multinational companies will soon list on Dubai financial markets. While he did not provide a date for when this would begin, he did say that Dubai’s excellent logistics capabilities and access to exceptional people will lead multinational corporations to seek local listings.

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SMEs urge for lifting ban on khashkhash, gurr and bhang trade

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SME

KARACHI: The farmers’ unions urged the Commerce Ministry (Mincom) and the Ministry of Planning and Special Initiatives (MoP&SI) to allow the exports of khashkhash (white food grade), jaggery (gurr) and medicinal and industrial hemp (bhang), a statement said. The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Farmers Association (Smefa) … Read more

Mastercard announces Women SME Leaders Awards

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mastercard

KARACHI: Mastercard has announced the inaugural of Women SME Leaders Awards 2022, to recognise and further empower women-owned and run SMEs in Pakistan, Middle East and Africa, a statement said. Small enterprises in trading owned and run by women and with a turnover of less than $13.6 million (AED50 million) and employing between six to … Read more

TDAP to organise ‘Pakistan Engineering and Health Show 2022’

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tdap

LAHORE: The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) will organise the first ‘Pakistan Engineering and Healthcare Show 2022’ to be held at Expo Centre in Lahore from February 25 to 27, a statement said. Delegates from 46 countries of Africa and Central Asian Republics (CARs) will participate in the exhibition, in which 21 product categories … Read more

Hard work pays off

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inflation

LAHORE: The rupee depreciation, high input costs and inflation are big challenges. The situation will not improve until or unless the government give due importance to other sectors, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and cottage industry and check inflation, said Tahir Manzoor Chaudhry, chief executive officer of Lever Group of Companies. The government is only … Read more

Unisame urges government to consult SME sector in policy formation

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SME

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has urged the Federal Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar to take the SME sector on board for consultation in the industrial policy formation, a statement said. Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver said that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are the back forte of the … Read more

A bumpy ride for small businesses

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small businesses

KARACHI: The persistent increase in the cases of coronavirus pandemic has badly affected the entire business chain of Pakistan, especially the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), resulting in an economic crisis-like situation in the country. Most of the enterprises are facing various issues with a certain degree of losses, including decrease in the demand-supply … Read more

Fighting from the front

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Muhammad Ali Afzal

LAHORE : High taxes and unstable exchange rate are the key challenges and the government is focusing only on large-scale manufacturing and that too the textile sector, said Muhammad Ali Afzal, chief executive officer of Afzal Sons. Afzal Sons is a multi-million-dollar enterprise, dealing in imports and supply of industrial equipment, hardware and tools. Afzal … Read more

Bright future awaits Pakistan as SMEs, exports grow fast

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Nasir Hameed

LAHORE: The government has taken several measures that helped Pakistan in improving its ranking in the Ease of Doing Business. The large-scale manufacturing has improved with the increase in exports but nothing has been done for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and cottage industry, said Nasir Hameed Khan, chief executive officer of the Dawn … Read more

Industries facing huge losses due to gas supply shortage

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SME

KARACHI: The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) industries are in turmoil as the gas supply situation is worsening, resulting in production loss, an official said on Monday. The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) president Zulfikar Thaver invited the attention of the government to the worsening of the gas supply situation to the industries, … Read more

Saudi fintech signs deals with local companies to reduce cost on SMEs

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Saudi fintech

RIYADH: Saudi fintech, Thiqah, a business services company, and Emdha, an IT firm, have signed 2 initial agreements, to empower small and medium-sized fintech companies in the kingdom, through reducing the cost of services, Arab News quoted a tweet, as saying. The agreements were signed under the patronage of the Digital Government Authority and Saudi central bank. … Read more

Meezan Bank launches SAAF Scheme for SMEs

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Meezan Bank

KARACHI: Meezan Bank Limited, Pakistan’s first and largest Islamic bank, also became the first bank to launch the Islamic SME Asaan Finance Scheme (I-SAAF) for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) under the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) SME Asaan Finance Scheme (SAAF), a statement said on Wednesday. The launching ceremony was held at the Multan … Read more

Saudi startups trail Egyptians in venture capital deals

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Saudi

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia was among the top countries in the Middle East and North Africa for new venture capital deals in the third quarter of 2021 with startups raising SR769 million ($205 million) from 91 deals, Arab News reported. It is a 439 per cent hike as compared with the figures of a year ago during which … Read more

Unisame facilitates govt on SME Policy 2021

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Unisame

KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has facilitated Prime Minister Imran Khan and the Federal Cabinet on the announcement of the SME Policy 2021, a statement said. Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver thanked the prime minister and the Federal Minister for Industries and Production, Khusro Bakhtiar especially, on the announcement of the SME … Read more

Huawei Cloud announces Spark programme for SMEs in Middle East

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Huawei

KARACHI: Huawei Cloud has announced the launch of ‘Spark’, a new startup ecosystem support programme, aiming at empowering the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to develop their cloud capabilities, a statement said. This initiative is the first step towards supporting Huawei Cloud partners in line with the recently launched Oasis Programme, where Huawei announced plans … Read more

Increased freight rates incurring losses to exporters

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exporters

KARACHI: The exorbitant increase in freight rates and no monitoring of shipping companies are a matter of concern for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) exporters, an official said. Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame), president Zulfikar Thaver has voiced concerns over the SME exporters to the exorbitant increase in freight rates and no … Read more

Mobile manufacturing leads ‘Make-in-Pakistan’ policy: Razak Dawood

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Mobile manufacturing

ISLAMABAD: Mobile manufacturing in Pakistan is part of the government’s “Make in Pakistan” policy, which will boost domestic exports, a senior official said. “Our vision is to make Pakistan a hub of mobile phone manufacturing and export and the export of mobile phones will soon start that will earn foreign exchange for the country,” Adviser … Read more

Businesses advise SBP for accommodative monetary policy stance

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Pakistan forex reserves

KARACHI: The business community has suggested the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) adopt an accommodative monetary policy stance instead of further raising it. In a statement on Saturday, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) Businessmen Panel (BMP) warned the central bank of any aggressive jump in the key policy rate in … Read more

Double taxation, high cost of doing business big challenges: LCCI

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LCCI

LAHORE: Double taxation, high cost of doing business and the lack of infrastructure in the market were big challenges, an official said. Talking to a delegation of the Textile Traders Association of Pakistan, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Mian Nauman Kabir said that the resolution of these issues is in the interests of … Read more

Daraz aims to bolster its position as Amazon eyes market

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Daraz

ISLAMABAD: Daraz aims to host up to 300,000 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) in two years, its CEO said, as the firm seeks to bolster its position in its home market in the face of potential competition from global giant Amazon, Reuters reported. E-commerce growth in the country of 220 million is yet to take off fully, … Read more

E-commerce trade to create business opportunities for Pakistani women: envoy

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E-commerce

ISLAMABAD: In the present era of e-commerce, there are business opportunities for Pakistani women in the global markets, including Indonesia, a diplomat said. “The volume of e-commerce market in Indonesia would reach $50 billion by 2025, which could be fully utilised by [the] Pakistani businesswomen, Indonesian Ambassador Adam Mulawarman Tugio told APP, while he was … Read more

Women economic empowerment essential to develop society: ambassador

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Women economic

ISLAMABAD: Women economic and social empowerment is essential for the development of any society and also for sustainable economic development, the Italian envoy said. In Pakistan, women are leading the economic and political arena and there are huge opportunities for women also in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector, Ambassador Andreas Ferrarese told APP, … Read more

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