Summary of SMEDA

Fizza Zain, Sikander Saleem, Maryam Shah, Salman Saleem

SMEDA stands for Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, it was an institution
set in the October of 1998 to take on the initiative of the development of small and medium
business ventures. This initiative aimed to encourage the population to set up business and
contribute to the collective development of the economy.

However, SMEDA being a government institution we expected the institution to be slow,

irresponsible and unresponsive. To our surprise, SMEDA was an extremely well managed and
responsive towards anyone who walked into their office. One of the distinctive difference
between NIC and SMEDA is the fact that NIC is both privately and publicly held whereas SMEDA
is completely a government held institution and the fact that NIC picks up business ideas and
builds upon them whereas SMEDA has pre-existing business ideas that they can help people
develop even when they do not have any business idea of their own but wish to start their own
business.

SMEDA objectives are to formulate Policy to encourage the growth of SMEs in the country and
to advise the Government on fiscal and monetary issues related to SMEs. Facilitation of
Business Development Services to SMEs. Facilitate the development and strengthening of SME
representative bodies associations/chambers. Set up and manage a service provider’s database
including machinery and supplier for SMEs. Conducting sector studies and analysis for sector
development strategies. Facilitation of SMEs in securing financing. Strengthening of SMEs by
conducting and facilitating seminars, workshops and training programs. Donor assistances for
SME development of SMEs through programs and projects. Identification of service
opportunities on the basis of supply/demand gap.

SMEDA has a fully functioning website that runs an algorithm where you can run business ideas
to get an estimate of the costing and to some extent evaluate the feasibility of the business
venture. They give an outline of the basics required to start a business venture and due course
process.

However, talking to the team of SMEDA, they told us how individuals that come in to work on
their business ideas mostly have little or no idea about how to start things off which where they
come in, they not only help setting up a business but conduct an education of the entrepreneur
where they are taught how to run a business. For example, a woman who is a successful home
baker now wishes to open up a roadside café.

When it comes to gender parity, SMEDA has birthed a separate department named as women
entrepreneurship to encourage women entrepreneurs to take initiative. This creates a separate
focus on this gender and the short comings that are faced women entrepreneurs, to break the
barrier of the societal norm that women cannot work.

Similarly, SMEDA is always looking for innovation as well, lately they had been working on a
project that made hydro phonic farming or plantation easy in the city of Karachi which is slowly
turning into a concrete jungle.

SMEDA keeps the market dynamic in check as well as the economic stability of the market
when developing on new business ideas, since the tax policy affects many business sectors and
can either make or break the business.

In a crux, the visits at SMEDA were an unforeseen experience as they exceeded our
expectations built on the basis of general word of mouth about how government institutions
are shabby and out dated.
 SME and Entrepreneurship
Research Project

Section A

Submitted to
Sir Fareedy

Submitted by
Fizza Zain, Sikander Saleem, Maryam Shah, Salman Saleem
Visit # 1
Visit # 2