Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) in collaboration with Sarhad University of Information and Technology (SUIT) has launched postgraduate diploma in entrepreneurship and business innovation.
The course is being offered under the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC), an initiative of the authority for identifying the problems and opportunities for SMEs and motivate students to become entrepreneurs and develop linkages among academia and industry in the province.
The centre will act as a resource for SME support institutions in the region in identification of the problems and opportunities for SMEs in the province through research and consultations to accelerate economic development.
Under the project the authority aimed to maximise awareness and disseminate entrepreneurship-related education among the people for motivation, and potential to organise, set up, and manage their own businesses.
The postgraduate diploma course would be comprising two semesters focusing on the practical and peformative knowledge in SME sector. The one-year course through EDC has been designed for personnel working in financial institutions, business managers, employees working in SME sectors and prospective entrepreneurs.
This initiative will mightily contribute towards increasing the number of SMEs in our society and will prove to be a vital resource for the students interested in establishing their own ventures. Registration for the said course is in progress and classes are to commence during December from this year.
According to senior Smeda officials the programme will increase and raise the percentage of graduates by 15 percent and will also assist Smeda in increasing the proportion of independent business owners in NWFP.