LAHORE - The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) will facilitate SME financing in collaboration with British Department for International Development (DFID), which has sought cooperation from SMEDA to implement its SME development initiatives in Pakistan. A 4-member delegation from DFID discussed scope of mutual collaboration with CEO SMEDA Sardar Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera at a meeting held at SMEDA head office.
The delegation included Jan Wimaladharma, Team Leader and Senior Private Sector Development Advisor, Roland V. Pearson, Jr., Financial and Private Sector Development Expert based in Washngton, DC, Waqas ul Hasan, Private and Financial Sector Development Advisor and Sohail Wajid, Program Manager of DFID. Whereas, CEO SMEDA was accompanied by Sultan Tiwana, General Manager Business & Sector Development Services, Khurram Khan, General Manager, Central Support Division and a number of the other senior officials of SMEDA on this occasion.
The visiting delegation told that DFID was running financial inclusion program for support of the micro enterprises in Pakistan. They informed that DFID authorities were interested to extend this program till the year 2015 moving its focus to SME sector. They invited SMEDA to join hands with DFID for development and implementation of such program for benefit the local SMEs. Earlier, CEO SMEDA welcomed the delegation and gave a presentation on services, projects and future plans of SMEDA. The project has been concluded so successfully that World Bank has invited SMEDA to get involved in its next program of the same nature, he added.