PESHAWAR – The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), has established a help desk to assist the business community with financial grants for the promotion and expansion of the textile industry through value addition.
The SCCI President, Fazl Muqeem Khan, along with Vice President Shehryar Khan, inaugurated the help desk on Monday. Chartered Accountant Ahmad Shahid, Ejaz Ali Shah, Kamal Mehmood, and SMEDA officials were also present at the event.
The matching grant is being provided under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) of the Ministry of Commerce, implemented by SMEDA, with the aim of offering financial assistance to more than 1,000 industrial stitching units to revive the textile industry. The officials briefed the SCCI leadership on the details of the matching grant.
Fazl Muqeem Khan lauded the announcement of the matching grant for industrial stitching units, describing it as a milestone initiative for the revival and development of the textile industry. He noted that the textile industry is rapidly declining under the current circumstances, with many industrial units closing down, which has led to increased unemployment in the province.
The SCCI chief emphasised the need for similar grants to be announced for other sectors, including CNG and petroleum, to stimulate business, industry, and trade. He highlighted that promoting economic activities and industrial growth would create new employment opportunities.
Fazl Muqeem urged the business community to take full advantage of the matching grant for the expansion and improvement of their businesses and industries. He also stressed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government should take similar initiatives to keep the industrial sector active in the province. He also called on the government to announce a special fiscal relief package for sick and non-operational textile and other industrial units in the province.
