Economic Revitalisation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Fata (ERKF) Project during its last one-and-a-half year operation awarded grants to more than 600 crisis-hit businesses. This was revealed during a meeting here in the Regional Office of SMEDA, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting discussed the lukewarm response of SMEs from DI Khan and other southern districts to the project.
Those who attended included Provincial Chief, Smeda, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Javed Iqbal Khattak, Vice President, Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Zafar Jalil and Project Manager, ERKF, Sarmad Hussein Khan and Secretary, FPCCI Regional Office, Bashir Khan.
Speaking in the meeting Zafar Jalil, who is also the ex-President of DI Khan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, stated that the businesses of southern districts especially DI Khan are facing multiple issues and lack of documentation and awareness is a major reason of low response.
He assured that the chamber would support staff of ERKF Project in order to facilitate affected businesses of the region. Javed Khattak, Provincial Chief SMEDA KP thanked the Chamber for its trust and co-operation. He said they want the businesses in southern districts to grow in order to play an effective role in economic development of the country. Sarmad Hussein Khan, Project Manager ERKF, informed Zafar Jalil that they will be visiting the southern districts next week in order to personally meet the affected entrepreneurs and make them aware about different types of matching grants for SMEs under ERKF Project.