NIC Karachi and State Bank of Pakistan successfully hosted an SME Summit on March 15, 2023, in Karachi, Pakistan. The event featured a panel discussion with industry experts and thought leaders, followed by a success story narrated by the founder of PayFast, and networking opportunities for attendees.
The event commenced with a welcome note by SBP-BSC Karachi and NIC Karachi, and the panel discussion on “The Power of Small: Driving SMEs to Success” was moderated by Rizwan Khalil Shamsi, Sr. Deputy Chief Manager at State Bank of Pakistan (SBP BSC).
The panelists included Shahid Malik from Bank Alfalah Limited as Head of SME, Arjumand Qazi – Group Head-SME Group at Pak Brunei Investment Company Limited (PBICL), Khizar Pervaiz – CEO of Sindh Enterprise Development Fund, Baqar Jafri – Co-founder & Chief Data Scientist at Investors Lounge, Qazi Shoaib Ahmad – Director at Development Finance Support Department of State Bank of Pakistan (SBP BSC), Imran Saeed – Founder of EncorePay and Mukesh Kumar – Provincial Chief, Sindh at SMEDA.
During the panel discussion, the importance of empathy, support, collaboration, and careful evaluation in the startup ecosystem was emphasized.
Arjumand Qazi, the Group Head of SME Group at Pak Brunei Investment Company Limited (PBICL), emphasized the importance of empathy towards startups, SMEs, and MEs. She said,
“I believe that the banking industry needs to reposition itself to facilitate SMEs instead of simply supporting them. The self-esteem of SMEs, including women entrepreneurs, is compromised when they feel they need to be hand-held by FIs,”
Mrs. Qazi said,
“PBICL has taken steps to empower SMEs and create an ecosystem of facilitating and understanding with empathy. By doing so, they can achieve their goals in a vibrant environment which in turn, contributes to the economy as a whole.”
Baqar Jafri adding
“Having a credit score for startups will help to evaluate their creditworthiness, and enable investors to make informed investment decisions. There should be a combined database of startups that would enable the identification of potential investment opportunities.”
This, he explained, could be achieved by assigning relationship managers to the database to help build relationships with startups.
Regarding investment in startups, Jafri noted that it is a risky venture, particularly when the startup is in the product fit stage. He advised caution, stating that
“Investment in a startup at the product fit stage is very risky, and it is important to conduct due diligence and evaluate the startup’s potential for success before investing.”
Overall, Jafri emphasized the need for collaboration and careful evaluation in the startup ecosystem to ensure the growth and success of startups.
Imran Saeed, the founder of Encore Pay, stated,
“Encorepay operates in the MENA region and is also empowering organizations in different regions, through our technology. It is crucial to involve technology in finance to ensure that legal procedures are being followed and that there is a lower risk of fraud.”
Qazi Shoaib Ahmad, the Director of the Development Finance Support Department at the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), stated that
“SME agricultural and financial literacy are key components for financial inclusion. Access to credit should be resolved by giving targets to commercial banks.”
He added that the current target for SME financing is set for 2025, with the aim of achieving 800 billion rupees, but the current number of borrowers stands at 172,000 with 541 billion rupees. Ahmad identified the challenge of turnaround time for customers, stating that it should be 15 days for individuals and 25 days for SMEs.
In the second session, Hafiz Attiqur Rehman from the State Bank of Pakistan presented the financial policies, schemes, and initiatives aimed at empowering SMEs and women entrepreneurs. Naresh Kumar and Usman Ghani presented initiatives for SMEs by HBL, and Arshil Rafique Balagamwala introduced Faysal Bank’s latest financial schemes and policies offered to SMEs and customers. Sikander Karim discussed non-financial advisory services provided by Bank Alfalah, emphasizing the importance of education to bridge the gap in traditional ways of getting loans.
The event ended with closing remarks by State Bank of Pakistan, LMKT, and NIC Karachi representatives. Sana Shah, Head of Programs, expressed her enthusiasm for such collaborations, saying
“We look forward to more events like the SME Summit that promote the growth and success of SMEs in Pakistan.”