Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) in collaboration with Bank Alfalah has launched "SME Financing Help Desk" to facilitate SMEs for easy access to finance. Chief Executive Officer Smeda, Muhammad Alamgir Chaudhry while speaking at a ceremony disclosed that the first SME Financing Help Desk had received financing requests worth Rs 283 million from 29 SMEs dealing in manufacturing, trading and service sectors.
He expressed deep gratitude to Bank Alfalah for deputing its staff for quick processing of the financing requests received there on the spot. He said that help desk facility is being provided through a focused discussion between the walk-in SMEs and the bank representatives.
The bank officials, in response to the SMEs financial needs offered most suitable loan products to the potential clients, he added. The State Bank of Pakistan's continued patronage for SME financing followed by the reduced KIBOR rates, the banks had started showing keen interest in exploring the SME sector's potential for financing.
Giving background of the help desk idea, Chaudhry said that Smeda during its generic help desk operation had attended over 90,000 SMEs, majority of which had been asking for financing. Therefore, Smeda has now attempted to resolve this issue by launching exclusive help desk for financing, he added. SMEs, which approached Smeda for their financing needs through the first help desk, appreciated the Smeda's efforts for taking initiative in this regard. Owing to success of this pilot project at its head office, this programme is now being extended to other business cities across the country, he added.