Pakistani small and medium-sized enterprises eye Turkey

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Pakistan can learn a lot from Turkey’s experience of developing its small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Pakistani provincial Finance Minister Aisha Ghaus Pasha said on Tuesday.

"We want to see the kind of enabling incentive environment that have been created in Turkey which has promoted the SME sectors," Pasha, who is a minister from Pakistan’s most populous province Punjab, told Anadolu Agency in Ankara.

"We would like to see how they have overcome some of the challenges in SME sector," she said, noting Turkey's steps to provide credits, technical training and skills.

“Taking our SME sector's level to Turkey's current level while collaborating with KOSGEB [Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey] is also one of our targets," she added.

Underlying that almost 67 percent of SMEs in Pakistan operate in Punjab, Pasha said 65 percent of the population in her province was aged between 15 and 25 years.

"We are very keen to generate employment for them. SME sector is pivotal that contributes in economic growth," she said.

Sheikh Allauddin, Punjab's minister of industries, commerce and investment, also hoped to benefit from KOSGEB's knowledge and experience with SMEs.

Allauddin highlighted the fact that Pakistan's population is more than 200 million. He added the Pakistani government was keen to generate new jobs for them.

"That’s why we want to learn from KOSGEB and Turkey. We really admire the success KOSGEB has done for Turkey since 1999 [when] KOSGEB was established, " he added.

KOSGEB signed memorandum of understandings (MoUs) with its Pakistani counterpart organization – the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and Punjab Small Industries Corporation (PSIC) -- in March 2016 in the Pakistani capital Islamabad and provincial capital Lahore to promote bilateral cooperation for the development of SMEs.

SMEDA officials are in Ankara to exchange views on SME policies and get information on KOSGEB's structure and support models.

KOSBEG head Recep Bicer said his organization wants to see Pakistan as business center and as an opening to Asia and the Far East markets.

"There is great opportunity in Pakistan with its young population. And they have an advantage of raw material and labor force.

“We can produce together and sell those goods to the world. So, this program [to connect SMEs on both sides] can be termed as a mutual project that enables both countries to grow and improve together," he said.

There are 3.2 million SMEs operating in Pakistan contributing just 26 percent towards employment while in Turkey SMEs account for more than 99 percent of enterprises contributing 75 percent towards employment, according to Bicer.

KOSGEB serves SMEs with its 88 branches and 39 technology development centers across Turkey.