The Ministry of Commerce has approved Rs.31.62 million for the establishment of Research and Development Cells in three chambers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The approval was given in the meeting of the Board of Administrators held under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Commerce, Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
The fund would be utilised for establishment of Research and Development Centres at Haripur Chamber of Commerce & Industry (HCCI), Tribal Area Chamber of Commerce & Industry (TACCI) and Dera Ismail Khan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI). Out of the total amount of Rs31.62 million HCCI will get Rs6.78 million, TACCI, Rs19.94 million and Rs4.90 million for Dera Chamber respectively.
Talking to this scribe Sarmad Hussein Khan, Manager Smeda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that Research and Development (R&D) is of great importance in business as the level of competition, production processes and methods are rapidly evolving. It is of special importance in the field of marketing where SMEs keep a strong eye on competitors and customers in order to keep pace with modern trends and analyse the needs, demands and desires of their customers. Unfortunately, the culture of research and pace of business growth on the basis of concrete research for proper institutional development of business community and chambers of commerce in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and FATA is very slow.
The EDF support of Rs31.62 million will help in strengthening of these Chambers. The approved funds will be utilised for the development of these three chambers by establishing Research & Development Centres at respective chambers. These projects will be implemented through separate project staff hired for the implementation purpose. The SMEDA Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would provide key institutional support to respective chambers for proper implementation of these projects.
