ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was informed on Tuesday that companies with annual revenues up to Rs30 million have been reclassified as micro-enterprises, bringing them under the scope of the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA).

The announcement came during a meeting of SMEDA’s steering committee, chaired by Prime Minister Sharif, where officials said the reclassification was made following the prime minister’s directive to boost growth in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector.

PM Sharif emphasized the importance of small and medium industries for national development and said the government was prioritising their promotion.

Officials also briefed the prime minister on reforms under way at SMEDA, including a draft Women Entrepreneurship Policy soon to be submitted for federal cabinet approval and the upcoming launch of a dedicated digital portal for women entrepreneurs.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said that SMEDA is also working on a new credit scoring model, export enhancement strategies, and a legal framework for SME subcontracting, with much of the work outsourced to external experts.

Additionally, the authority is conducting a survey of 20 economic sectors in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

The meeting was attended by federal ministers Ahad Cheema, Musadik Malik, Shaza Fatima, Prime Minister’s Advisor Tauqeer Shah, Special Assistant on Industry and Production Haroon Akhtar, chief secretaries of all four provinces, and representatives from Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.—ZULFIQAR AHMAD