Minister sees $40-60b export potential in SMEs

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has said that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have the potential to make $40-60 billion worth of exports in the next three to five years.

Speaking at a conference titled "Export-led Economy – Race to $100 billion", Ahsan Iqbal declared that the government would facilitate SMEs in achieving the goal.

He reaffirmed the government's commitment to significantly increasing exports and meeting the ambitious target of $100 billion within eight years.

Achieving the target within the given time frame will be beneficial, but in case of failure, it will pose significant challenges.

The minister emphasised the need for enhancing production and leveraging key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, information technology, mining, manpower and creative enterprises to drive growth.

To increase exports, the government will collaborate with the relevant departments and ministries for creating a dashboard to outline a clear road map for growth in these sectors. He pointed out that 70 out of more than 500 companies listed on Pakistan Stock Exchange generated exports of only around $10,000 while big companies made profits of billions of rupees without contributing to exports. To address that, Iqbal called for formulating policies and incentive packages to encourage the private sector to contribute to exports.