in Pakistan account for 35% in value addition, contribute 30% to the national GDP, and 25% to the exports. While their importance to the economy is undisputed, in terms of social development, SMEs also account for 78% of the non-agricultural employment in the country. In Balochistan, with a view to further strengthen the role of SMEs in the development of the province, the Government of Balochistan is elaborating a provincial level SME Competitiveness Strategy to advance support services for SMEs in all three – agriculture, manufacturing, and services – sectors.

The SME Competitiveness Strategy will yield an action-oriented and precise framework, which does not stop at simply identifying broad objectives, but go into detailed activities, targets, and impact measures, indicating what exactly needs to be done and by whom, within what time frame and with what resources. Tailored to meet the specific needs of Balochistan, the strategy will also address challenges raised by the private and public sectors and will be instrumental in empowering the identification of opportunities to enhance SME competitiveness. The objective is to develop a set of conducive policies and programmes to strengthen and modernize Balochistan’s SMEs, build up the entrepreneurship and innovation of the enterprises, and enable public services to reach SMEs across the province.

Secretary S&GAD, Muhammad Hashim Ghilzai, chaired a Balochistan SME Development Working Group meeting on 2 November 2021 in Quetta. Representatives from relevant government departments, private sector, academia, and civil society attended the meeting to ensure a successful strategy management and coordination system is in place and relevant institutions and partners have input in the direction of the SME strategy. The Department of Industries and Commerce is mandated to lead the design of the Strategy for SME competitiveness by further consulting and engaging with all relevant public and private stakeholders in Balochistan.

He said ‘’I am glad to announce that this Strategy will assist the SMEs, and hep small companies found at each link of value chains as input suppliers, farmers, and traders, to improve their business environment, as well as equip them to mitigate rising challenges such as climate change.’’

Having a realistic and implementable SME Competitiveness Strategy will provide Balochistan with an actionable roadmap to boost SME’s performance for economic and social prosperity. It will contribute to building a conducive business environment for SMEs that can increase the trade performance of the province and make it more attractive for investment.

Technical support for the elaboration of the strategy is supported by the “Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP)” project, funded by the European Union, and implemented by the International Trade Centre. The project is working to uplift the business environment around SMEs and assisting the government in updating and formulating relevant policies in Pakistan.