The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) has intensified its campaign to promote business registration through the SME Registration Portal (SMERP), aiming to formalize enterprises across Pakistan. This initiative is part of SMEDA's commitment to fostering an enabling business ecosystem for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), helping them scale and flourish while contributing to national economic growth as envisioned by the government.
Free Registration Drive for Entrepreneurs
Under the guidance of the Ministry of Industries and Production, SMEDA is advancing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's vision of inclusive economic growth by equipping MSMEs with knowledge and tools to become competitive. Entrepreneurs, especially women and budding businesses, are encouraged to register through https://smerp.smeda.org/ or by visiting SMEDA's official website to take the first step toward being recognized, competitive, and future-ready entities.
Officials engaged in the registration drive highlight that SMEDA, as Pakistan's premier SME development institution, is actively engaging entrepreneurs—with a special focus on women-led enterprises and micro-businesses—to register through SMERP and become part of the formal economic system. The registration initiative aims to provide MSMEs with improved visibility, business recognition, and access to a wide range of facilitation services that support enterprise development in an increasingly competitive economic environment.
CEO Emphasizes Gateway to Economic Opportunity
CEO SMEDA Nadia Jahangir Seth emphasized that SME registration is not merely an administrative process but a gateway to economic opportunity, business sustainability, and long-term resilience. "Formalization enables SMEs to strengthen their business identity, access finance and markets, improve credibility and participate more effectively in national and global value chains," she stated.
Seth noted that SMEDA's SME Registration Portal offers enterprises a free and simplified mechanism to initiate their formalization journey. "Registered MSMEs can benefit from business advisory services, capacity-building programs, networking opportunities, exposure through trade fairs and exhibitions, and stronger linkages with financial institutions and larger enterprises," she said.
Formalization Essential for Supply Chains and Exports
According to SMEDA officials, formalization is increasingly becoming essential for enterprises seeking integration into modern supply chains and export markets, particularly in light of evolving international compliance requirements related to sustainability, traceability, labour standards, and due diligence. Pakistan continues to face significant informality challenges, with a large proportion of enterprises and workers operating outside formal systems. This limits access to finance, reduces productivity, weakens competitiveness, and restricts compliance with international trade requirements such as GSP+ obligations and emerging sustainability standards.
SMEDA-ILO Collaboration Drives Formalization
SMEDA's ongoing collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) aims to strengthen Pakistan's enterprise formalization agenda. In December 2025, SMEDA and ILO jointly launched Pakistan's first National SME and Worker Formalization Roadmap under the “SME Formalization and Just Transition” initiative. The roadmap provides a coordinated national framework to simplify business registration, strengthen labour compliance, support supply chain due diligence, and facilitate SME participation in the formal economy.
Through awareness campaigns, training sessions, helpdesk services, digital facilitation tools, and policy advocacy, SMEDA and ILO are working together to make formalization more accessible and beneficial for SMEs across sectors including textiles, garments, auto parts manufacturing, and services. Under the collaboration, awareness and training sessions based on ILO Recommendation No 204 on the “Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy” have already been conducted in Lahore and Karachi, bringing together SMEs, chambers of commerce, worker organizations, sector associations, and government institutions.
SMEDA officials note that enterprise formalization contributes not only to business growth but also to improved working conditions, social protection, skills development, environmental sustainability, and inclusive economic growth.
