SMEDA stands for Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority – as the last word in that name hints, SMEDA is a government organization created to encourage and support SMEs in Pakistan. This government organization traces its history back to its creation more than 15 years ago in 1998 and has a wide array of tasks on its agenda.
What it aims to do
The objectives of SMEDA can be broken down into four broad categories:
- Policy Support: For a governmental organization aiming to help SMEs in the country, one of the key differentiators from private efforts in the same direction is its ability to influence and implement government policy that helps businesses in the country.
- Information Collection and Databases: Another key function that SMEDA aims to achieve is to not only collect information on SMEs in the country, but also conducting studies in the area to strengthen the discourse. This process also links in to the goal of making SME representative bodies that can help better coordinate activities related to the industry.
- Business Development and Training: Like private efforts in the industry, the government also wants to provide business development and training to SMEs to help them prosper. Part of these services include helping businesses secure financing.
- Networking and Connections: Through its connections, SMEDA aims to connect SMEs with applicable donor programs – this is another critical activity that a well-run government organization is best positioned to execute.
Services
SMEDA’s website is impressive in terms of the level of detail that it provides for each of its services and projects. This provides an interesting contrast to the way start-up incubators’ websites are usually not completely fleshed out and leave you wondering what they mean when they say financial services, for example.
In SMEDA’s case, detailed explanations and links are available for all the services that they say they provide which include: Information Resource Center, Legal and Contracting Services, Technical Services, Training Services, Women Entrepreneurship Initiative, Consultant Database, Trade Fairs/Exhibitions/Seminars, Financial Services and Industry Support Program.
Women Entrepreneurship Program
A SMEDA service that stands out is the Women Entrepreneurship Initiative. Central to this initiative is the building of Women Business Development Centers (WBDCs) – the site claims that three (Karachi, Swat and Quetta) have already been built in 2012 and the plan is to increase that number to 25.
This is a well-intentioned initiative that looks at a side of SME development or entrepreneurship that is completely ignored by the next-big-thing-aspiring technology entrepreneurship scene. Women have been central to the success of development initiatives through microfinance programs – enabling them to set up small businesses and realizing their entrepreneurial dreams. A government agency is well-placed to bring this marginalized part of the population to the center of SME development.
Words versus Actions
SMEDA’s website is not only full of details and useful information, it also lists actionable opportunities and projects such as the Prime Minister’s Youth Business Loan, Public Sector Development Programme, Cluster Development and Development Partnership Initiative. It also lists a business opportunity to partner with a Canadian technology firm to build and operate their product in Pakistan.
What would be key, however, is how these programs are implemented. While government bureaucracy would make sure that each aspect of the agency’s objectives is complemented by lengthy documents detailing action steps and objectives, what really matters at the end is what sort of action is being taken. From SMEDA’s regularly updated social media page with regular training activities and other events, it seems like the agency is active in executing its mission.
It would be great to hear from people who have had the opportunity to directly work with SMEDA and learn how their experience was.
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