SMEDA conducts 54 training programs in 6 months

ISLAMABAD, Jan 4  : Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has arranged 54 trainings, seminars and webinars during the last six month (July-December) this year to provide invaluable skills to young entrepreneurs, especially women seeking economic empowerment.

These training sessions, usually one-day events, covered wide range of entrepreneurial aspects including, `Financial Management for SMEs`, “Social Media Marketing” “Selling on Amazon from Pakistan” “Digital Entrepreneurship”, “Food Safety & Hygiene Management in Food /Restaurant Business”, “Sales and Marketing Strategies for SMEs”, revealed statistics on SEMDA’s official website.

Regarding SMEDA’s role in women entrepreneurship development, an official of SMEDA told this scribe that the authority had formed a Women Entrepreneurship Development Cell (WEDC) to highlight the challenges women face and create a platform to optimize women’s success during the stages of business creation.

According the information received through Right To Information, WEs working with SMEDA have diversified areas of business and products that they deal in, including shoes making, handicrafts, embroidery, apparel, hospitality, confectionary and bakery, restaurants, construction, organic food,  organic skin care products, dry fruit business,  khussa making, basketry, pottery, dairy farms, beauty salons and SPA, health care, women gyms, daycare centers, home cooked food,  wedding planners, pulses, grains, spices & lentils and soap and candle making etc.

SMEDA has been tasked with an advisory role in the implementation of Prime Minister’s ‘Kamyab Jawan – Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme’, for young entrepreneurs and existing businesses. It also formulates policy to encourage the growth of SMEs in the country and advises the Government on fiscal and monetary issues related to SMEs.

For imparting complete knowledge about branding and its importance, SMEDA arranges training programs regularly for Women Entrepreneurs in the country in which, approximately, 1000 plus women have participated.

Sarah Babar, a Lahore based woman entrepreneur dealing in bridal couture told this scribe that she started her workshop on the upper floor of her house and hired two craftsmen for embroidery and stitching. “I started this venture with an amount of 500,000 and a business model crafted by SMEDA. I attended a few of their training workshops and discussed my idea with the trainers there”, Sarah told.

She, however, said although these training sessions were beneficial, it took me rather a good amount of time to manage the business on my own. “It was a difficult task to adjust my product in the given business model because I had to localize the product. I had to make my own marketing strategy which was a time taking process as I was new to it,” she added.