10TH Pakistan SME Forum 2016 on August 23 in Karachi

The 10^th Pakistan SME Forum 2016 organized by SHAMROCK Conferences International will be held on August 23, 2016 at the Pearl-Continental Hotel, Karachi. The theme of the moot is “Facilitating SMEs Makes Economic Sense” and will feature the sector’s pressing topics.

Being held for the past ten consecutive years, the SME Forum has evolved into a powerful platform where the long-standing issues of the sector are debated for its desired result.

Organized with the cooperation of the State Bank of Pakistan, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) of the Ministry of Industries, the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) and key stakeholders, the SME Forum 2016 will be addressing the sector’s vital issues taken up by the federal government. 

Menin Rodrigues, Convener of the SME Forum 2016 said, “It is heartening to see that our consistency in highlighting the issues of the SME sector over the past decade is beginning to bear fruit. There have been a number of favorable interventions by the State Bank of Pakistan to address the issues, in particular, the working of an action plan for the implementation of the National Finance Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). I am hoping there would be a genuine headway in support of the SMEs in Pakistan.”

Zulfikar Thaver, President UNISAME and Chairman of the Capacity Building Working Group of NFIS Technical Committee, and who is also a member of the Consultative Group of the 10^TH Pakistan SME Forum 2016, said “The positive attitude of the Finance Ministry and the State Bank of Pakistan is a clear indication of the progress being made in addressing important issues of the SME sector; and conferences such as the Pakistan SME Forum, gives a precise understanding and direction to what we want to achieve in the dialogues.”

The topics to be covered in the 10^th Pakistan SME Forum 2016 will include among others, capacity building of the primary sector, cottage industries at grass roots levels, banking, leasing, insurance and logistics facilities and technology advancements. Promotion of modern systems of farming, cultivation, irrigation and harvesting will also be debated.