In a meeting of the Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) held at Unisame House under the chairmanship of Zulfikar Thaver to examine the methods for motivation of SMEs, it was pointed out that SMEs are shy and are not coming forward due to various reasons mainly fear of loss, intimidation, not finding the correct vocation and incomplete information on the subject of setting up a new enterprise.
The other reason is lack of finance. Unisame has designed a programme for motivation of the sector which first of all envisages the removal of unnecessary fear regarding losing, and guide a newcomer to do market research first before deciding on the item for exploitation.
If a careful study is carried out regarding the costing and estimated sales based on demand and the extent and room for a new product to get a market share, the chances of losses can be eliminated.
The fear of intimidation from gangsters and revenue collectors and supervisory bodies is now completely eliminated as the Home Departments have issued and published emergency phone numbers of senior officials who can be contacted for immediate help in case of demands from miscreants and extortion, and in case of any harassment from government personnel the matter can be referred to the trade bodies for a solution.
For the newcomers there is a list of industries and trading items available with Unisame, the Pakistan Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (PCSIR), the Small & Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda), Fabricon, a turnkey consultant engineering company serving SMEs.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) is also committed to guide SMEs on items which can be marketed overseas.
The Federal Bureau of Statistics is answering queries on different items and commodities and enables a small or medium enterprise to prepare accordingly.
Most of the commercial banks and development financial institutions are advertising invitations to SMEs, and micro finance banks are also active. In fact, a new micro finance bank, called 'Rozgaar Bank' will commence business soon.
Most of the Chambers of Commerce and institutions have an SMEs help desk and SMEs have the facility of walk-in for the required information.
Unisame has advised the government to carry out a campaign to motivate the SMEs and when the entrepreneur knows about the opportunities, he or she would come forward and avail the facilities.
The participants thanked Unisame and other government and non-government organisations for creating an awareness amongst the stakeholders who are now actively endeavouring for the betterment of the sector.-PR