The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) has facilitated a total of 21,889 SMEs since its establishment 10 years ago. Of the total, 3,105 SMEs are located in the north-west Frontier Province (NWFP).
Briefing journalists on the 10th anniversary of the authority regarding the achievements of authority, provincial chief of Smeda Javed Iqbal Khattak said that during the last 10 years, the authority also arranged 250 training programmes, trained 12,000 personnel and made 25 business plans with investment facilitation of Rs 835 million. The expected value-addition in the next 10 years was Rs 722 million, he added.
Khattak, who was flanked by managers Sarmad Hussein and Ashfaq Afridi, said that the authority was working on the development of marble and granite, gems and jewellery, furniture, horticulture, minerals, light engineering and diary and livestock sectors.
He attributed the establishment of Pakistan Stone Development company, Pakistan Gems & Jewellery Company, Pakistan Hunting and Sporting Arms Development Company and launching of Aik Hunar Aik Nagar (Ahan), furniture company and dairy development company to the sector development initiative of the authority. During the last 1o years, the authority developed the clusters of textile in Matta Mughal Khel, Islampur, Rajar and Ziarat Kaka Sahib.
Besides, the authority initiated the establishment of Common Facilitation Centre (CFC) as well as preparing lending package, extension of technical inputs, market linkages and environment issues linked with the cluster.
In head of the cluster development, he said that the PC-I for the establishment of the Footwear Training Institute in Charsadda was the initiative of the authority followed by the feasibility of Leather Village. For development of carpet sector, he said the authority had made value chain analysis and prepared feasibility study of the carpet village.
The Smeda also arranged honey extracting machines through linkages with academia to increase capacity building outputs of the commodity, he added. About the initiatives in Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata), Khattak said that the economic side of the 10 years, Fata Sustainable Development Plan, comprising skill development, lending packages, revival of women skill development centres, field internship programme were the initiative of the Smeda.
Since the very inception phase, the Fata Development Authority is receiving support from the authority and had established a special cell at the FDA, he added. Similarly, he said that they were also extending support to the Tribal Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TACCI) in capacity building.
The special initiatives of the provincial office of the authority were focusing on revival of sick industrial units, he said, adding that due to the efforts of the authority, the provincial government had established a special committee for the revival of the sick industrial units.
For this, he said the authority was taking initiative on permanent basis, and decided to create a special desk to assist the committee. Though the Smeda is a subsidiary organisation of the Ministry of Industries, but it put major input in the SME, industrial and agricultural policies of the provincial government and constitution of an Investment Facilitation Centre (IFC).
He said the authority had extended legal services to the business community in tax and rent-related matters under establishment of Third Party Facilitation Centre and support in establishment of Sarhad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry and had established legal services cell for women entrepreneurs.
Under the special initiatives, the establishment of Women Business Development Centre, Common Facility Centre, Wood Season Plant had been approved for Matta Mughal Khel and Dir, while projects of the Leather Product Development centre and Small Intervention Projects had been submitted for inclusion in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).
Due to active role, the company had been given representation on all business-related management committees included Board of Directors of PHASDC, investment facilitation committee, provincial committee on SMEs, committee for revival of sick industrial units, advisory committee for mineral development of NWFP, footwear training institute, Pakistan Gems and Geological Institute and other provincial core groups, he said.
To a question regarding performance of NWFP office, he said that the authority had suggested plantation of 25 type of seasonal plants, which would help produce quality furniture in the province. He said the Smeda had also prepared a chromate ugradation plan, while the work on such kind of plan on gypsum was in progress. The report would be submitted with the provincial government.
The authority, he said, was also working on preparation of Districtwise Economic Development Plan of 24 districts of the province, tribal agencies and Frontier Regions (FRs). Under the plan, the Smeda would identify potential areas and would initiate small projects, while large-scale project had been identified in the investment guide of the province, he added.
The final draft of the plan would be submitted to the provincial government to facilitate the business community in the districts. "The economic development plan in 14 districts had been completed and work on the remaining districts was in progress, Khattak added. About potential in tourism sector of NWFP, he said that the authority had identified 14 projects in different areas. However, the prevailing security situation was creating hurdles in the arrival of investment.