LAHORE - Pak China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Founder President Shah Faisal Afridi has said that digitalising and revolutionising small industries should be the new SME policy of Pakistan.

He expressed these remarks during a meeting with PCJCCI President Wang Zihai and PCJCCI Vice President Moazzam Ghurki. Afridi maintained that it is in domestic markets and small industries that all sort of innovation and entrepreneurship can take place which later will move out and lead to higher exports and foreign exchange earnings. “The small shopkeeper and unskilled labourer contain the largest number of small and medium enterprises and if we make this sector boom we will have a more egalitarian development,” he added.

Afridi suggested that trade policy should not only be for promoting exports but for promoting all trade both at home and abroad. “We have to redesign our trade policy, centred to encourage competition, create opportunities and provide an enabling environment for domestic markets to flourish in an innovative and exciting new approach,” he added.

Afridi enthusiastically reiterated that the public and private sector should follow a vibrant vision of transforming Pakistani cities into a dynamic commercial hub. “We in Pakistan must encourage fresh thinking and allow technical people into government to make good things happen,” he added.

On the occasion, Wang said, “When we look at the success stories of international brands and the innovative individuals behind them, we see that many have started off from humble beginnings.” He said that in several East Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and China, spaces are allocated for temporary stalls to be set up resulting in the now famous night markets. These vibrant markets are one of the biggest tourist attractions in their cities, he added.