By M Qadeer
LAHORE: Pakistan cannot build a stronger export economy by relying only on conventional products and traditional markets; it must encourage value-added manufacturing, modern technology, stronger brands and internationally competitive businesses, says Muhammad Ali, corporate-class candidate for the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Executive Committee on the platform of Vision Alliance.
Ali, CEO of M/s Eshal Embroidery, Chairman of the Embroidery Association of Pakistan and Convener of the LCCI Standing Committee on Embroidery, Laces and Fashion Brands for 2024-26, said his experience in manufacturing and organised business representation has convinced him that Lahore possesses significant untapped potential in value-added industries.
He said embroidery, laces, fashion products and related industries are connected with a much wider economic chain comprising textiles, garments, designers, retailers, machinery suppliers, accessories, logistics, skilled workers and exporters.
In an interview ahead of the LCCI elections, Ali said he wants to bring this industrial experience to the Executive Committee and work for a chamber that is accessible to manufacturers, traders, exporters and SMEs.
He identified lower business costs, competitive energy, simpler compliance, technology adoption, skilled manpower, export-market development and effective government-business coordination among the areas requiring sustained LCCI attention.
Why are you contesting for the LCCI Executive Committee?
Muhammad Ali: My basic motivation is to contribute practical business experience to LCCI and strengthen representation of traders and industrialists.
Running an industrial business gives you one perspective. Working with an association gives you another because you start hearing the problems of many businesses rather than only your own. Working through an LCCI standing committee further exposes you to institutional mechanisms for raising sectoral issues.
I believe this combination can be useful at the Executive Committee level.
If elected on the Vision Alliance platform, my objective would be to remain accessible and contribute towards practical solutions rather than treating EC membership as merely a position.
What has the embroidery industry taught you about Pakistan’s economy?
Embroidery demonstrates the importance of value addition.
Take a basic fabric and add design, embroidery, finishing, creativity and branding. Its commercial value can change considerably.
The same principle applies across the economy. Pakistan needs to move towards products that generate greater value from our skills, manufacturing capabilities and creativity.
Embroidery is also connected with numerous other sectors. It supports garment manufacturers, fashion brands, designers, thread and accessory suppliers, machinery businesses, technicians, retailers and workers.
When one value-added sector grows, economic activity spreads through its supply chain.
How can LCCI promote value-added manufacturing?
First, we have to understand sector-specific requirements.
There cannot be one policy prescription for every industry. Some businesses require technology upgrades, others need better market access, skills, finance or regulatory facilitation.
LCCI can bring businesses together, identify common problems and develop proposals based on actual industrial experience.
Secondly, we should create stronger connections between manufacturers, designers, brands, exporters, technology providers and educational institutions.
Value addition does not come only from machinery. It comes from combining production with design, skills, innovation and market knowledge.
What are the biggest problems confronting manufacturers?
The overall cost of doing business remains a major concern.
A manufacturer has to consider electricity, financing, taxation, wages, machinery, raw materials, logistics, compliance and numerous other expenses.
When these costs rise simultaneously, competitiveness becomes difficult.
For businesses producing for export markets, the challenge is even greater because they compete with suppliers from other countries.
LCCI should continuously assess how economic policies affect industrial competitiveness and communicate that impact to policymakers with facts and practical recommendations.
How serious is the energy challenge?
For machinery-based manufacturing, energy is fundamental.
Embroidery machines and other modern manufacturing equipment require reliable electricity. Businesses have production schedules and delivery commitments. Any significant uncertainty in operating costs makes planning more difficult.
Energy therefore needs to be viewed as an industrial competitiveness issue.
LCCI cannot itself determine tariffs, but it can document their effect on different sectors and engage the competent authorities.
Industry must also improve efficiency. Modern machinery, better production planning and energy-efficient technologies can help businesses control costs where feasible.
What role can embroidery and fashion-related industries play in exports?
There is considerable potential because these are value-added sectors.
International customers increasingly look for quality, design, consistency, innovation and reliable delivery.
Pakistan already has a strong textile base. The opportunity is to add more value before products reach international customers.
Embroidery, laces, fashion products, specialised garments and design-driven products can all contribute to that objective.
We should also encourage businesses that currently serve only the domestic market to examine whether their products can be adapted for export.
LCCI can help by providing market information and facilitating connections with foreign chambers, trade organisations and buyers.
Do Pakistani businesses need to focus more on branding?
Absolutely. Manufacturing a good product is essential, but modern competition also involves presentation, design, customer experience and brand identity.
Pakistan has many businesses capable of producing quality products, but we need more internationally recognised brands.
Lahore has a particularly interesting combination of manufacturing, fashion, retail, design and young creative talent.
If we connect these areas more effectively, there is an opportunity to create stronger Pakistani brands.
LCCI can provide networking platforms where manufacturers and creative businesses can interact and explore collaborations.
How important are SMEs to your vision?
SMEs are extremely important because the large businesses of tomorrow can emerge from the small enterprises of today.
The problem is that many SMEs reach a stage where further growth becomes difficult.
They may require financing, new machinery, technical knowledge, marketing support or access to larger customers.
LCCI should help create linkages between SMEs and banks, government institutions, technology providers, established companies and potential buyers.
We should also provide greater awareness about export requirements and digital business opportunities.
A small manufacturer should be able to see a pathway towards becoming a larger manufacturer or exporter.
What about taxation and compliance?
Businesses recognise their obligation to comply with applicable laws and pay legitimate taxes.
The issue is whether procedures can be made simpler, more predictable and easier to understand.
Administrative complexity carries a cost, particularly for SMEs.
A smaller company may not have separate legal, tax and compliance departments. The owner may personally deal with production, customers, banking and government procedures.
LCCI should advocate simplification and better coordination where possible while also helping members understand their responsibilities.
A good regulatory environment should encourage compliance and economic activity together.
Traders sometimes complain about enforcement by government departments. What role should LCCI play?
The chamber should take a balanced and institutional approach.
Government departments have legal responsibilities, and businesses must comply with applicable laws. At the same time, if a member has a genuine grievance about a procedure or enforcement matter, there should be an appropriate channel through which the concern can be raised.
LCCI can help document the matter, identify the competent authority and facilitate communication where appropriate.
The objective should be resolution through lawful procedures rather than confrontation.
If the same issue is repeatedly reported by businesses, the chamber can examine whether a broader procedural or policy matter requires attention.
What have you learned as Chairman of the Embroidery Association of Pakistan?
An association teaches you to listen.
Different businesses operating in the same sector can have very different circumstances. One may be concerned about energy, another about machinery, another about skills and another about market conditions.
When businesses come together, common issues begin to emerge.
The responsibility of an association is then to convert those concerns into an organised agenda.
I believe the same principle applies at LCCI, but on a much larger scale.
The chamber represents diverse sectors, so it needs strong communication with associations, markets and industrial clusters.
How has the LCCI Standing Committee experience helped you?
Serving as Convener of the Standing Committee on Embroidery, Laces and Fashion Brands for 2024-26 gave me an opportunity to bring businesses from related sectors onto one platform and discuss issues in greater detail.
Standing committees can be valuable because they bring sector knowledge into the chamber.
But their usefulness ultimately depends on follow-up.
If a committee identifies an important problem or opportunity, its recommendations should be documented and, where appropriate, taken forward through the chamber’s institutional mechanisms.
I would like to see even stronger connections between LCCI’s standing committees and its broader policy advocacy.
How important is technology to the future of manufacturing?
It is essential.
Technology is changing production, design, marketing, inventory management and customer relationships.
Businesses that fail to modernise can lose competitiveness.
But technology should not be seen simply as replacing people. Modern manufacturing creates demand for different skills — machine operators, technicians, designers, software specialists, maintenance professionals and production managers.
Our challenge is to prepare workers and businesses for that transition.
LCCI can encourage stronger cooperation between industry, universities and technical institutions so skills development reflects actual business requirements.
What infrastructure improvements does Lahore’s industry need?
Infrastructure directly affects productivity.
Industrial areas need proper roads, efficient transportation, reliable utilities and smooth movement of goods.
Commercial markets face their own challenges, including congestion, accessibility and parking.
LCCI should map these issues rather than treating infrastructure as a general subject.
If a particular industrial area has a specific problem, identify it, determine which authority has jurisdiction and pursue a practical solution.
The chamber can be most effective when its advocacy is specific.
What should be LCCI’s relationship with government?
Professional, constructive and consistent.
Businesses and government may disagree on particular policies, but they are not natural enemies.
Government needs investment, employment, exports and revenue. Businesses need infrastructure, stability, effective institutions and a predictable regulatory environment.
Regular consultation can help both sides understand each other’s concerns.
LCCI should be willing to support positive policies and equally willing to explain respectfully when a measure is creating difficulties for legitimate businesses.
The chamber should present alternatives rather than limiting itself to criticism.
How would you encourage investment?
Existing businesses should be encouraged to reinvest, while new investors should find Lahore attractive.
Investment decisions depend on several factors: costs, market opportunities, infrastructure, skilled labour, regulatory clarity and confidence about the future.
LCCI can showcase opportunities, connect investors with businesses and provide feedback to government on barriers identified by entrepreneurs.
Investment does not always mean a completely new factory. When an existing manufacturer buys modern machinery, expands production or develops a new product line, that is also investment.
We need conditions that encourage such decisions.
What does contesting on the Vision Alliance platform mean for you?
It gives me an opportunity to bring my sectoral and industrial experience into a broader business platform.
But an elected Executive Committee member ultimately has a responsibility towards the entire LCCI membership.
My background may be embroidery and value-added manufacturing, but the principles I am advocating — lower business barriers, better facilitation, stronger SMEs, technology, exports and effective government coordination — apply across many sectors.
If elected, I would want businesses outside my own industry to feel equally comfortable approaching me.
How should an EC member be judged?
By accessibility, participation and follow-up.
Winning an election should not be the end of contact with voters. It should be the beginning of responsibility.
An Executive Committee member should listen to members, participate seriously in chamber affairs and follow up on the issues assigned to him.
It would be unrealistic to claim that an EC member can solve every problem because many decisions rest with government departments and statutory authorities.
What members can reasonably expect is sincere, professional and persistent representation.
What is your message to LCCI voters?
I would ask them to consider the experience and practical understanding of every person seeking their vote.
LCCI represents one of the country’s most important business communities, and its Executive Committee should include people who understand how businesses operate and are prepared to devote time to the institution.
My experience comes from manufacturing through Eshal Embroidery, sectoral representation through the Embroidery Association of Pakistan and institutional work through the LCCI Standing Committee on Embroidery, Laces and Fashion Brands.
I want to use that experience to contribute to the wider business community.
My vision is for an LCCI where a manufacturer, trader, exporter or small entrepreneur can approach the chamber and know that a genuine business concern will receive a serious hearing.
Lahore has the industrial capacity, entrepreneurial energy and creative talent to become an even stronger centre of value-added manufacturing and exports. Our task is to connect those strengths with technology, skills, markets and effective business facilitation.
Value addition at centre of Muhammad Ali’s LCCI agenda
Ali’s agenda places value-added manufacturing at the centre of a broader economic strategy covering industrial competitiveness, SMEs, exports, technology, skills and government-business coordination.
His argument is that Pakistan can derive greater economic value from existing manufacturing strengths by moving further into design-driven and higher-value products while simultaneously improving the environment in which businesses operate.
For Lahore, he sees particular potential in connecting traditional manufacturing with fashion, branding, technology and younger entrepreneurs.
As a corporate-class candidate on the Vision Alliance platform, Ali is presenting his experience as CEO of M/s Eshal Embroidery, Chairman of the Embroidery Association of Pakistan and Convener of the LCCI Standing Committee on Embroidery, Laces and Fashion Brands for 2024-26 as the foundation for his Executive Committee campaign.
His proposed test for effective representation is relatively straightforward: whether elected representatives remain accessible after polling, whether business concerns are converted into specific proposals, and whether those proposals are followed up with the institutions empowered to act.
For Ali, strengthening LCCI therefore means making it both a voice for established industry and a platform through which the next generation of manufacturers, SMEs and exporters can grow.
