CSF’s Financial Support of $ 411,000 generates new investment worth $ 4.8 million; 6200 jobs created. Investment expected to create a multiplier effect - every $1 invested to generate 12 times more new investment.
Islamabad, 29 October - The Board of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) met here today under the chairmanship of Omar Ayub Khan, Minister of State for Finance and Chairman CSF, to review the progress of the Fund’s activities.
Chairing the third board meeting, Omar Ayub Khan, appreciated the progress made and achievements of CSF activities, especially with regard to impact on the economic growth strategy of the government of Pakistan. He said that CSF is critical to identify economic sectors that have competitive advantage to grow. He further said, CSF is the unique platform of competitiveness activities in Pakistan, where public and private sector, and academia as well as media can meet and create value towards sustained economic growth in Pakistan.
Arthur Bayhan, Chief Executive Officer of the Competitiveness Support Fund, presented the progress report to the board members. He also briefed the board on the policy assistance of the Competitiveness Support Fund including, Regional Conference on Economic Growth in 2006, State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report 2007, Policy Paper for the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper II “Crafting a Competitive Advantage” and Special Economic Zones’ Benchmarking and Policy Action Plan. The board was also informed about the various sectoral policy analyses that the Fund has carried out to identify the sectors that have the competitive advantage and potential to grow. Sectors studied so far include: Policy Analysis on the Competitive Advantage of Motorcycle Industry in Pakistan, Action Plan for Fish Quality and Value Adding at Karachi Fisheries Harbor, Policy Analysis on the Competitive Advantage of Auto Vendor Industry in Pakistan and the Competitive Advantage of Gender Integration in the Economic Development and Its Contribution to the Economic Growth.
Bayhan also briefed the board about the CSF study on the Competitive Aspects of the Food Processing Sector in Pakistan – Obstacles and Prospects; which has resulted in Action Plans for the Horticulture and Meat Sectors.
The Board was briefed on CSF’s agreements and the Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) to improve Pakistan’s economic competitiveness with leading national and international institutions including the World Economic Forum (WEF), The Competitiveness Institute (TCI), Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC), Government of Sindh (GoS), Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC), Board of Investment (BOI), Pakistan Business Council (PBC) and the FATA Secretariat.
The Board reviewed the current activities of the matching grant facility of the fund and approved four innovative projects. The projects approved for co-financing will generate a substantial new investment of $4.8 million creating more than 6,200 new jobs in the country. CSF will be contributing a total amount of $411,000 for the four projects which will generate an additional amount of $1.0 million from the stakeholders. The projects will support Cutlery, Medicinal Fruits, Engineering and the Dairy clusters in various regions of Pakistan. The projects will also impact competitiveness of the relevant clusters by increasing their export potential.
CSF’s investment is expected to create a multiplier effect, where every $1 of investment is expected to generate 12 times more new investment in the country. All approved projects will support public-private partnerships to link research and development institutions and private sector by involving a three-fold set of stakeholders, termed ‘Triple Helix’ by the economic leaders, which includes, private sector, academia, and government.
The Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to reposition Pakistan’s economy on a more competitive global footing.
CSF supports Pakistan’s goal to have a competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country. CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship, business incubators and private-sector-led initiatives with research institutes and universities that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.
Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance.
