SMEDA is still determined to give women businesses more power.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) continues to play a key part in helping women start their own businesses and making a real difference in the growth of the national economy.

In line with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s vision of inclusive economic development, the Government of Pakistan celebrates International Women’s Day 2026 with the theme “Empower Women, Empower Pakistan.” This is to show appreciation for the important role women entrepreneurs play in the national economy, even though they face challenges.

Every year on March 8, people around the world honor the important roles women play in many areas of life. This year’s theme is “Give to gain.”

CEO Nadia Jahangir Seth says that as the main support group for small and medium-sized businesses, SMEDA is helping women entrepreneurs through a number of programs, such as building their skills, letting them use technology and money, and giving them access to markets. She says that these programs are being offered openly so that women business owners can help the government reach its economic goals on a national level.

Women make up almost half of the country’s population, but they don’t participate in economic activities very much. The CEO of SMEDA says that the organization, with help from the Ministry of Industries and Production, wants to help women become entrepreneurs by lowering financial barriers, making them more aware of the market, and giving them digital and AI-based training.

Pakistan’s first National Women’s Entrepreneurship Policy and Action Plan is at the center of SMEDA’s work. This is a historic effort to create an environment that helps women businesses succeed and join men as equal partners in progress, according to officials.

They say that the policy will likely be passed soon by the Federal Cabinet. After that, SMEDA will vigorously carry out its action plan through initiatives on the ground. A 5% rise in the number of women working and exporting is one of the policy’s goals. Another is to help 3.2 million women businesses reach their goals so they can help Pakistan reach its $60 billion export goal over the next five years.

Officials say that SMEDA is also working on the ADB Women Inclusive Finance Project (WIFP), which tries to make it easier for women to get credit and find work, to help businesses run by women.

Over the years, the group’s Women Business Incubation & Development Centers across the country have helped women small businesses by teaching them and giving them advice. As part of the Digital Literacy Program, it has taught nearly 1,600 women across the country how to use computers.

The new “Womenpreneurship Platform,” which will be powered by AI and serve as a “one-stop digital platform for access to relevant information and services,” will work with these other projects.

They say that SMEDA helped more than 100 women entrepreneurs from 24 women’s clubs or associations and microbusinesses at the recent “Made in Pakistan – SME Cluster Showcase Expo 2026” get their products seen by new customers and make connections that will help them in the future. As a follow-up, they say, specialized teams are now working with the women who took part to help them get resources and access to global markets so that they can expand their activities.

In another important development, SMEDA and the Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, AJK have decided to back and include women-led businesses in Azad Jammu & Kashmir in the formal economy and give them targeted help.

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and SMEDA worked together earlier to celebrate International Women Entrepreneurship Day. The event was a “resounding success,” with the heads of 21 women’s chambers of commerce and industry from across the country attending. The government also promised to help these groups get past the problems they face.

Officials say that SMEDA and FPCCI also held Sindh women chambers to bring the problems of women business owners to light and help them find answers with help from the government.