The 2nd Internal SME Conference was recently held in Lahore from the 15th of March till the 16th of March 2017 by the Ministry of Industries and Production Government of Pakistan, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA), and the School of Business and Economics.
With Pakistan’s economic landscape dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), yet there is relative neglect in academic and research institutions of the country in scientifically studying the unique characteristics and challenges of the SME sector and consequently devising solutions for various stakeholders.
Currently, SMEs constitute 99% of economic establishments, contribute 40% to GDP, add 25% to manufacturing value added and provide 78% of non-agriculture jobs in the country.
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The SME conference was directed towards calling the industry, academia, government and the developing agencies to understand challenges and prospects of SME sector in Pakistan, and furnish declamations for all stakeholders, in general; and policy makers in particular.
The SME Conference welcomed case studies, empirical and conceptual scholarly contributions on the following topics in the two day event:
- Conducive Business Environment (Long Term Policy Framework, Fiscal Policy, Trade Policy, Legislation, Doing Business, Competitiveness, Level Playing Field etc.)
- Access to Finance (SME Financing, Leasing, Credit, Venture Capital, Angel Investment, SME Stock Exchanges etc.)
- Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development (Business Creation, Human Resource Development, Foreign Direct Investment, Cluster Development etc.
- Local & International Market Development for SMEs (Integrating SMEs into Global Value Chains, Market Access, Trade Openness, Quality and Technology, Certifications, Branding, Joint Ventures, Trade Agreements, CPEC etc.)
