USAID highlights SMEs role in economic growth

Islamabad : The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated the World Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Day here on Thursday.

During an event, Deputy Mission Director of the USAID Pakistan David Young highlighted the vital role of small and medium enterprises in economic growth around the world.

"Globally, small and medium enterprises constitute about 90 per cent of the entire business sector, and they generate livelihoods for more than 50 per cent of the workforce.

They also foster innovation and creativity through their business ideas and initiatives," he said.

Mr Young said the USAID’s Small and Medium Enterprise Activity (SMEA) was a dedicated effort to support small and medium enterprise-led growth in Pakistan.

He said during the last five years, the SMEA had awarded innovation and scale-up grants, implemented business development activities, and increased access to market and technical training for Pakistani small and medium enterprises.

"This activity has yielded impressive results, creating more than thirty-seven thousand new job opportunities," he said.

The USAID deputy mission director said another of SMEA’s important achievements was its support for women-led businesses, which constituted more than 30 per cent of the total beneficiaries under the activity.

Additional secretary of the industries ministry Iftikhar Ali Sahoo commended the contribution of USAID in strengthening the MSMEs in the country. He said SMEs played a pivotal role in the development of the high-income sector. The official said the government's SME policy was comprehensive, conducive, and user-friendly.