The SME Business Support Fund (BSF) receiving an encouraging response and increasing demand for financial assistance among small and medium enterprises has established an office in Multan to help SMEs. BSF Business analyst Fatima Hussain said the BSF had already set up its office six months ago in Karachi to improve market access to BSF support and help SMEs enhance their competitiveness.
A dedicated BSF management team for the Multan region has gone to administer all aspects of BSF with promoting business development service providers. She said BSF had already extended financial assistance to SME projects in Multan and nearby areas for product development, IT, quality management, and technology up-gradation, brand development and process improvement.
"The contribution of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (MCCI) is commended for creating awareness about BSF among other commerce and industry chambers, industries and commercial segments of the southern Punjab region," she added.
Owned by the Finance Ministry and created with the help of ADB, BSF gives financial assistance of up to Rs 1.8 million to SMEs from all over Pakistan for getting various business services. It has so far committed support to over 480 SMEs from manufacturing, agriculture and mining, trading and service sectors. Funds have been given for certifications, local staff training, website designing, software implementation, machinery installation, marketing, export development and product development.
She said the BSF services were not geographically bound to any territory and the SMEs had been supported in many cities including Abbottobad, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Kabirwala, Quetta, Karachi, Lahore, Lodhran, Multan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Rahimyar Khan, Sargodha, Sialkot, Daska, Shujabad, Swat, Wazirabad and Hub. About the fund's expansion programme, BSF Chief Executive Officer David Monkman said new regional offices would meet demands for BSF's support in the region.