Small and Medium Enterprises Develop-ment Authority (Smeda) will formulate a five-year business plan for the revitalisation of Gems & Gemological Institute of Pakistan (GGIP), Peshawar. This was decided in a meeting of General Manager (Operations) Smeda, Syed Iqbal Kidwi in his visit to the institute, here on Thursday.
The business plan will cover proposals and recommendations for the revitalisation of the institute particularly changing structure of board of directors and provision of financial resources to it. The institute was established in 2001 with the aim to create manpower for the gemstone sector and promote self-employment. It has so far trained more than 2,000 girls and other students.
On this occasion, GM Smeda directed officials of the authority to establish linkage of trained youths of the institute with financial institutes for provision of soft loans to assist them in getting employed. Speaking on the occasion, provincial chief Smeda, Javed Iqbal Khattak announced that very soon a meeting of the management of the institute would be arranged with the Bank of Khyber (BoK) for provision of loans under Bacha Khan Khapal Rozgar Scheme to those who had got training from the institute.
He said that micro-finance programme has been launched for skilled youths to support them in initiating their own businesses. Smeda officials assured management of the institute that their issues would be taken up with the senior officials of the ministry of commerce. Earlier, chairman executive committee GGIP, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi briefed General Manager Smeda about the working and affairs of the institute. He particularly referred to lack of property building of the institute. He also presented a shield to GM Smeda.