SME authority plans to further develop portal

Inks deal with PITB for addition of advanced features, mobile app

LAHORE:

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) on Monday entered into an agreement with the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) to enhance the efficacy of its SME registration portal.

Smeda CEO Socrat Aman Rana and PITB Director General Muhammad Waseem Bhatti signed the agreement. Representatives of the business community, banking industry and public sector were present on the occasion.

Highlighting the key objectives of the agreement, the Smeda chief executive officer said that the authority was already operating a PITB-developed SME registration portal, which required further development and enhancement for addition of advanced features, integration, mobile application and expansion.

Smeda and PITB, after having mutual understanding, agreed to work on a set scope as a joint venture, he said, adding that the agreement would add value to the registration portal, which would not only improve the SME certification and management system, but would also upgrade the one-window/mobile app facility, SME registry's networking with other useful data resources and e-commerce platform linkages with many more online services.

PITB DG Muhammad Waseem Bhatti, while exchanging the agreement documents, assured the Smeda CEO that the objectives and goals assigned by the authority in the given scope of work would be achieved.

He appreciated that in the era of information technology, Smeda was endeavouring to provide local SMEs with word-class online facilities. In that regard, he welcomed the modern approach of Smeda.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reiterated the government's commitment to supporting small and medium enterprises, describing them as the backbone of Pakistan's economy.

He made these remarks while chairing a meeting in Lahore, aimed at boosting the growth of SMEs and reviewing the initiatives of Smeda.