Pakistan should adopt a new SME policy of digitalising and revolutionising small industries, said Pakistan China Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCJCCI) Founder President Shah Faisal Afridi.

During a meeting with PCJCCI President Wang Zihai and Vice President Moazzam Ghurki, Afridi maintained that innovation and entrepreneurship can take place in domestic markets and small industries. This will eventually lead to higher exports and increased foreign exchange earnings, he added.

‘The small shopkeeper, the unskilled labourer contains the largest number of small and medium enterprises and if we make this sector boom we will have a more egalitarian development,’ said Afridi.

He suggested that trade policy should not only be for promoting exports but for promoting all trade both at home and abroad.

According to Afridi, domestic markets and small industries are sectors where the poor and the middle class are hidden. Wang said that in several East Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore and China, spaces are allocated for temporary stalls to be set up resulting in the now famous night markets. These vibrant markets are one of the biggest tourist attractions in their cities, he added.

It was jointly agreed that the proposed strategy should be focused on improving the quality and quantity of wholesale and retail outlets, ultimately linked to urban management and land use.