PAKISTAN needs investment from both local and foreign investors in many sectors of business and trade, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to create jobs for youths, raw material and semi-finished goods for big manufacturers.

SMEs are the backbone of most economies of the world. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) has been working for the promotion of SMEs for the last 17 years and technical experts are trying to help SMEs.

Owing to the poor law and order, the business community is disturbed and cannot afford to take any extra risk for doing new businesses.

Because of lack of serious thinking on our part, some others think about us and assist us in improving education, health, etc.

According to news reports, now the British deputy high commission is planning to establish business centres in Pakistan, initially in five cities: Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Peshawar and Quetta.

I suggest that these centres be named ‘Businessmen Facilitation Centres.’

The essence of the BFC should be to coordinate with the chamber of commerce and industry, trade associations and other trade bodies for the betterment of existing fields and search for new ones.

They should organise trade fairs and exhibitions, catalogue shows, exchange result-oriented trade delegations and gauge the trade volume.

Trade commissioners or business ambassadors should be selected from the business community and their meetings with senior officials should be arranged, while the market should be searched for products for export.

Short-term, medium-term and long-term business policies for boosting trade should be evolved and performance periodically analysed.

These facilitation centres authorities should visit businessmen to know their needs and make arrangements to help them.

These centres should also promote cluster culture in specific areas. For example, in Hyderabad many clusters can be established, such as handicraft, glass bangles, marble work, motorcycle assembling, rabri preservation, red rose preservation, etc.

Ateeq Muhammad Qureshi
Hyderabad

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2014