ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Friday launched the Asaan Karobar Programme saying innovative strategies by incorporating digital technology was essential to ensuring sustainable business activities especially to lessen the compliance burden on businesses particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Addressing the ceremony, President Alvi said the prime interest of a country is to promote business activities and emphasised the importance of taking stakeholders on board for a successful policy formulation.

He congratulated the Board of Investment (BoI) for establishing an online portal to identify regulatory bottlenecks and issues with the involvement of private sector and business associations.

He proposed that women should be provided with the opportunities of ease of business through digital setups and this will help the inclusion of population that could lead to the vibrant and emergent middle class.

BoI Chairman and Minister of State Azfar Ahsan termed the initiative historic and said it would help improve ease of doing business in the country.

Mr Ahsan said a special law was also in the drafting stage for authorisation of ‘Guillotine activities’ at the federal level through the Regulatory Guillotine Unit established at BoI.

A total of 167 reforms have been taken up with federal and provincial departments, and 115 reforms have been implemented involving 75 departments, benefiting more than 30 sectors.

The focus areas for these reforms include SME manufacturing units, start-ups, and exporters. The key sectors include food processing, health sector, solar energy businesses, surgical sector, construction and tourism.

Commerce and Investment Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2022