A meeting was held at the office of Noman Fayaz, Deputy Managing Director for Planning and Development at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Small Industries Development Board, bringing together officials from SIDB and a visiting team from State Bank of Pakistan’s Banking Services Corporation to discuss SME value chain financing. The meeting was attended by M Atiq ur Rehman Shah and Asghar Hussain, both Deputy Directors for Planning and Development at SIDB, alongside Niamat Ullah, Joint Director, and Tauseef Hussain, Deputy Director, representing SBP BSC.
The meeting formed part of SBP BSC’s ongoing assessment of SME value chains across Pakistan, an initiative aimed at understanding business ecosystems, commercial relationships, and opportunities for expanding formal financing to businesses, with particular attention given to small and medium enterprises. This broader assessment reflects the State Bank’s continued effort to map how financing flows through different industrial and business networks across the country, identifying gaps where formal credit access remains limited.
During the discussion, participants examined various proposals and opportunities for facilitating access to financing specifically for manufacturing SMEs, with particular focus on those operating within SIDB’s industrial estates. This targeted focus on industrial estate based businesses suggests the meeting aimed to identify concrete, actionable financing pathways for a defined group of manufacturers rather than addressing SME financing challenges in the abstract.
Participants emphasised the importance of strengthening linkages between financial institutions and SMEs as a means of enhancing access to formal finance, supporting business growth, and promoting greater financial inclusion specifically within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. This emphasis reflects a broader recognition that many SMEs operating within the province continue to rely on informal financing channels, limiting their ability to access the capital needed for expansion or modernisation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Small Industries Development Board expressed appreciation for SBP BSC’s initiative and indicated it looks forward to continued collaboration aimed at strengthening SME financing and supporting sustainable industrial development within the province. The meeting adds to a broader pattern of engagement between State Bank of Pakistan and provincial industrial development bodies, reflecting continued institutional attention toward closing financing gaps for manufacturing SMEs operating within formally designated industrial zones across Pakistan.
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