KARACHI: The country’s capital market will have a separate platform for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the next 12 months and efforts are underway to allow access to alternate financing options for budding entrepreneurs, said Nadeem Naqvi, CEO Karachi Stock Exchange on Friday.

He was speaking at a panel discussion during the ‘Building Pakistan’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem’ conference jointly organised by US Consulate and National Entrepreneurship Working Group (NEW-G).

The event also marked the Global Entrepreneurship Week, which is held from November 18-24 each year and aims at inspiring more people to choose entrepreneurship as a career.

The KSE CEO stressed on the need to provide finances to new entrepreneurs, adding that the government has a key role in providing suitable regulatory framework.

He further said that given the high risk of failure and no bankruptcy laws or exit methodology, it was important that SECP stepped up its role as a regulator.

The participants were informed that rather than the law and order situation of the country, it was the lack of skilled human resource that was putting off investors.

Earlier, NEW-G President Rizwan Rizvi said that Pakistan needs to create 36 million jobs in the next 10 years.

“These jobs have to come from the existing framework where job seekers will have to become entrepreneurs,” he said adding that the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country is still in early stages and needs patronage.

He further informed that women entrepreneurs accounted for less than 1 per cent. “Even a country like Zambia has 40pc women entrepreneurs,” he added.

He said NEW-G aims to support the country’s entrepreneurship ecosystem by fostering public-private dialogue and sharing ideas.

It aims to optimise the regulatory environment to facilitate startups and SMEs, he added.

In his speech, US Consul General Karachi Michael Dodman said that he noted a lot of passion about entrepreneurship in Pakistan. He went on to highlight the entrepreneurship programmes and activities of the US in the country.

“NEW-G is a Pakistani group and is focused on what is needed here. Pakistan best understands what needs to be done here,” he said.

He said that entrepreneurship initiatives must make an effort to stay for the long term.

“SMEs are the best drivers of economy,” he opined. Giving example of the Unites States where over 10 million women own businesses and generate some $2 trillion, he stressed that women in Pakistan must come forward and avail opportunities.