Lahore, 12 January 2017 - Under the UNIDO-SMEDA-ITALIA Project a workshop on Institutionalizing Credit Guarantee in Pakistan was organized in Lahore on 12th January 2017 with the aim to deliberate on establishment of a Credit Guarantee Fund Company based on a feasibility study conducted in the country. The objective of the workshop was to create awareness about the proposed recommendations of the study and get feedback that will enable SMEDA to recommend and advocate to the Government of Pakistan for the establishment of a Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs, in the forthcoming Federal Budget 2017-18.

More than 40 representatives of financial institutions, Chambers of Commerce and other stakeholders attended the workshop and following aspects of the feasibility study were highlighted for discussion. Indeed, as stated in the study the fund may be launched by establishing an independent Investment Finance Company (IFS). It was emphasized that there is a strong demand for such a company and stressed on the importance of financial intermediation to enhance access to finance. This type of fund can be a key policy tool to address the financing gap as SMEs are limited in their capacity to access finance due to lack of collateral, no credit history and lack of expertise required to produce financial statements.