Mr. Akhtiar Ahmed, Senior Joint Director has been associated with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) for the last 22 years and is working in Development Finance Group (DFG) of SBP since last 14 years. Currently, he is heading SME Finance Policy & Regulations Division and leading various initiatives for facilitating SMEs access to finance from formal sources. Among other responsibilities, currently, he is closely working with related stakeholders to promote Supply Chain Finance (SCF) in the country. Moreover, Mr. Ahmed has conducted numerous SME finance related trainings/workshops/seminars for both the demand and supply side stakeholders. He is also working to promote sustainable finance and green banking in Pakistan. Prior to joining DFG, he served in Banking Supervision Group (BSG), where his primary responsibility was to assess overall financial condition and management practices of financial institutions to ensure their soundness and stability as well as to protect the interests of depositors. During on-site inspection of financial institutions, Mr. Ahmed conducted supervisory reviews of financial institutions including risk assessment, compliance of regulations & supervisory directives, adequacy of internal controls and governance framework.