Making the best of Jica offer

It will indeed be heart warming, at least, to many an otherwise disconsolate small entrepreneur to learn from a Recorder Report that the Japanese International Co-operation Agency (Jica) has agreed to provide more senior volunteers to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) in order to help expand its industry support programme in Punjab and Sindh.
This has reference to the welcome observation made by the newly appointed Jica Senior Deputy Resident Representative, Hajime Nabeta, in a meeting with Smeda Chief Executive Officer Shahid Rashid, saying the Jica would be hiring fresh senior volunteers for Smeda soon after restoration of normalcy in the country.
Moreover, on the future of Smeda-Jica Industry Support Programme, he assured that Jica would continue its collaboration with the Smeda to enhance the productivity of the country's SMEs sector. It will be recalled that the setting up of the Smeda in the 1990s, though inspired by the success of such efforts elsewhere in the world, had remained largely marked more by ambition than by objective comprehension of the ways and means of making it really purposeful.
For no serious thought appeared to have gone into framing a comprehensive policy on the small and medium enterprises. It is, however, just another matter that, seemingly, impressed by ideas of effectiveness of the small and medium enterprises, the government continued to assign some role to Smeda in its efforts to address the disarray in almost every sector of the economy, though leaving too often much to be desired to the dismay of the stakeholders.
In so far as the SMEs sector is concerned, it continued to figure in the government's oft-repeated assertions of boosting it in a big way for higher economic growth and optimum job creation.
However, fantasies apart, a beginning in the right direction could be made none earlier than 2006, when former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz asked the concerned ministry so to redesign a comprehensive policy as to ensure achievement of SME-led economic growth too.
While spelling out guidelines on enabling steps to develop the sector, he had laid considerable emphasis on the need for industrial estates all over the country, with a sharp focus on clusters, wherein every estate would dedicate itself to a particular industry, the federal government serving as a catalyst and the real ownership going to the provinces.
Earlier, soon after assuming office, he had declared that his government would focus on speedy development of SMEs. But as often pointed out in these columns, notwithstanding the SME sector's contribution of 30 percent to the GDP, 80 percent to urban employment, and 25 percent to exports, its units continued to need a great deal more to ensure fulfilment of even their basic requirements.
In fact, their tremendous growth potential, which is mostly owed to entrepreneurial skill and experience of the men behind these units, the SMEs have remained burdened with too many problems, mainly because of their inability to gain easy access to the financial institutions.
However, peculiar as it happens to be, the government's response to the plethora of problems confronting them, fell too short of what they actually required to function to the best of their potential.
For, it will be noted that quite a large number of SMEs cannot be regarded as fully qualified to avail themselves of the facilities offered, due to sheer inability to meet the still too harsh conditions associated with government incentives.
In so far as prospects of their development are concerned, reference may also be made to the growing realisation of their importance world-wide. All in all, with new opportunities coming its way, the Smeda would have done better to seize them all and to proceed with development of SMEs more vigorously.
Many and varied having been the missed opportunities thus far in boosting this vital sector, now is the time to move with rapid and firm action, making the best of the help offered by Jica and other organisations in order to play their due role in consolidating the gains the country's economy had made with a keen eye on the challenges of globalisation.