PESHAWAR: The business community has demanded of the federal and provincial governments to take proactive steps for development and facilitation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Speaking at a session on the “Theory of Change regarding SMEs” hosted by the Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA) here on Wednesday, Abdul Jalil Jan, senior vice president of the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), urged the government to enact laws that would support and strengthen SMEs in a sustainable manner. He asserted that only a peaceful and favourable environment could flourish small-scale business and industry.

Abdul Jalil Jan emphasised that in order to improve the province’s small and medium-sized business sector, SCCI, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) and other pertinent authorities must work together. The vice chief of the chamber discussed a number of challenges and issues that SMEs confronted, particularly the challenge of obtaining soft loans from commercial banks.

He was of the view that commercial banks were reluctant to improve lending ratio in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. In order to ensure that SMEs received soft loans on a priority basis, he highlighted the necessity of streamlining the documentation process.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024