Government Seeks Public-Private-Partnership with Jazz to Digitize SMEs, Enhance Competitiveness
Islamabad – 27, 2026 (Adnan Hameed) : Advisor to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production (Federal Minister) Haroon Akhtar Khan held a meeting with a delegation from Jazz to explore avenues for public-private collaboration aimed at accelerating the digital transformation, financial inclusion, and growth of Pakistan’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
The meeting focused on developing practical cooperation between the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) and Jazz to leverage Jazz’s technology, connectivity, digital platforms, and nationwide capabilities for the benefit of SMEs across Pakistan, says press note.
Speaking at the meeting, Haroon Akhtar Khan emphasized the need to introduce affordable and effective digital solutions for SMEs to improve productivity, customer engagement, digital payments, record keeping, and overall business management.
He said that new opportunities for digital financing and mobile-based lending should be explored for small businesses and retailers, particularly those that remain underserved by conventional financial channels. Digital solutions could provide such businesses with greater access to financial services and help promote broader financial inclusion.
The Advisor said that specialized digital solutions should be developed for small shops and retail businesses, including digital payments, inventory management, customer management, and other tools aimed at improving efficiency and competitiveness.
He further emphasized the importance of digitally integrating SMEs into wider commercial value chains, enabling them to connect more efficiently with suppliers, customers, markets, and financial services.
Haroon Akhtar Khan said that technology-enabled security solutions for small shops and retail businesses could also be considered as part of a broader SME digitization package.
The Advisor highlighted the potential role of Jazz’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme in supporting selected SME-focused pilot initiatives on a free-of-cost basis. He said that such pilots could demonstrate measurable impact before successful models are scaled up at the national level.
He stressed that pilot projects should have clear and measurable key performance indicators (KPIs), including the number of SMEs digitized and businesses onboarded, financing facilitated, improvements in productivity, increased sales, and access to new markets.
Haroon Akhtar Khan said that SMEDA could provide the SME ecosystem, policy perspective, institutional outreach, and access to businesses, while Jazz could contribute its technology, connectivity, digital platforms, and private-sector capabilities.
He emphasized that the proposed collaboration should go beyond conventional institutional engagement and focus on practical solutions capable of generating measurable economic value for SMEs.
“Making Pakistani SMEs more productive, digitally enabled, financially included, and competitive in domestic and international markets is an important priority of the Government,” Haroon Akhtar Khan said.
He added that digital technology would play a vital role in strengthening the competitiveness of Pakistani SMEs in both domestic and international markets, while improved access to finance, markets, technology, and business services would help unlock their growth potential.
The meeting explored a framework for sustained cooperation between SMEDA and Jazz, with an emphasis on developing scalable digital solutions that can ultimately benefit SMEs across the country.
