LAHORE, Aug 3: Punjab Industries and Investment Minister Sohail Zafar Cheema said on Friday that development of small and medium enterprises was key to industrial and economic progress.

Speaking at a seminar on ‘Small business loans’, organised by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers and Industry’s Standing Committee on Women Entrepreneurs at the federation’s zone office, Cheema said the countries like China, Korea, Japan and Switzerland made tremendous progress by paying attention to the development of small and medium enterprises.

He said women entrepreneurs could contribute to national development if they were given loans on soft terms and low mark-up.

Bank of Punjab President Hamesh Khan said the bank had started giving loans up to Rs500,000 to women entrepreneurs on low mark-up and soft terms.

He said that women could play a significant role in economic development of the country if they were guided and trained properly.

Federation Vice-President Azhar Saeed Butt said the government should allocate maximum funds for small loans because 90 percent of such loans were paid back.

He said that women should be given small loans on soft terms and personal guarantee.

Federation Managing Committee Chairman Chaudhry Rehmatullah Javed said all banks would soon start giving business loans under the SME Policy and added that now women entrepreneurs would be able to benefit from the loan facility like men.

Mujahid Rashid of Meezan Bank and Khalid Mustafa Siddiqi of SME Bank explained loaning policies of their banks for women entrepreneurs.