World MSME Day 2026: UNISAME Demands Action, Not Just Meetings

As the President of UNISAME, I must highlight the growing frustration within the business community. The government’s approach to the SME sector has been characterized by endless meetings, reviews, and dialogues with consultants, yet there is a glaring absence of decisive action and high-impact plans. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has shown a keen interest in the sector, holding frequent meetings with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) officials and foreign consultants. However, these engagements are merely reviewing proposals that have been submitted time and again. What the sector urgently requires is implementation, not deliberation.

Despite contributing roughly 40% to Pakistan’s GDP, employing over 80% of the non-agricultural labor force, and accounting for about 25% of exports, the SME sector is systematically neglected. The 2025-26 federal budget, with a massive outlay of Rs17.573 trillion, regrettably lacked a dedicated development package for SMEs. This failure to create an enabling policy environment is a clear indication that the government’s priorities are misplaced.

The challenges are chronic and well-documented. Access to finance remains a critical bottleneck; SMEs receive a meager 6-7% of total private sector credit, far below the policy target of 17%. The liquidation of the SME Bank has created a significant institutional void, while nearly half of all formal SMEs lack access to formal credit. The tax regime continues to impose a disproportionate burden on small businesses, and the complex filing process remains inaccessible to many who lack financial and digital literacy.

Furthermore, technological backwardness severely limits productivity. Our manufacturing SMEs lack access to modern machinery, digital tools, and trained human capital. High production costs, inadequate infrastructure, and unreliable utility services further constrain development. The National SME Policy 2021 set ambitious goals, but by mid-2025, progress has been limited, hindered by poor implementation, weak institutional coordination, and seriously insufficient political commitment.

On this World MSME Day, while SMEDA organizes awareness activities and interactive sessions across the country, we must distinguish between ceremonial observance and substantive progress. UNISAME has repeatedly urged the government to establish high-impact policies for the promotion of this majority sector by facilitating, supporting, helping, motivating, and stimulating it on all fronts—from financing and education to strengthening the supply chain and making energy affordable and accessible.

We demand an exclusive SME desk in the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) for targeted promotion of SME wares, the establishment of an SME Global Gallery, and a State Bank of Pakistan scheme that allows SMEs to borrow money for commercial property and raw materials. We also call for the activation of the Exim Bank and the granting of a matching limit for the much-needed credit guarantee insurance scheme.

All deliberations, dialogues, and advice from consultants will be futile if what is really required is not done promptly for the fast-track promotion and development of the sector. The time for meetings is over; the time for action is now. The government must stop indulging in “going to do” agendas and start delivering high-impact plans that will unlock the immense potential of Pakistan’s SME sector.

Zulfikar Thaver

President

Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME)