Currently there are over 50 ICT related government bodies and the new government aims to bring all these institutions under one umbrella, said National Enterprise Development Authority Director Dhanuka Liyanagamage.
“In certain cases intentionally or unintentionally they work as a rival organization,” he said at the launch event of the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2024 (GEW) launch at Ceylon Chamber of Commerce yesterday.
Chairman and CEO of Microimage Harsha Purasinghe mentioned that they are in the process of creating a new Digital Economy Authority which is expected to oversee this. The inaugural board meeting in this regard was held last week.
Due to this initiative these institutions can work under one theme which would be more productive to the country. Liyanagamage said that it was sad to note that only about 3% of the working population becomes entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka.
“However if you compare this pathetic number with the regional peers even Bangladesh is 7%. Hence we need to increase this up to at least to 10% within three to five years. Donor funding is also now aimed at developing entrepreneurship which is extremely good and something to be appreciated. Entrepreneurs need to have a certain amount of paradigm shift. Though on one hand, we have a high literacy rate but when it comes to financial literacy, especially among the SME’s its low. We are looking at breaching this gap by conducting awareness programmes,” added Liyanagamage.
Mastercard Country Manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives Sandun Hapugoda said that over 19% of the establishments are SMEs and MSMEs and hence supporting them is really crucial.
“We should empower Sri Lankan SMEs and MSMEs entities to grow their business and they could gain huge benefits by adopting digital systems. This will help them to reach not only the global markets but also to widen their business access.
Through the Mastercard Centre of inclusive growth we are also supporting them and during the last five years we have supported 14 million businesses around the globe, out of which 60% are women owned enterprises. Entrepreneurship is not about just starting a business. It’s all about solving a problem in society in an innovative way and also in a sustainable way to reach better heights,” added Hapugoda.
It was also revealed that in the third quarter of 2024 alone, an impressive amount of 7,143 new businesses were registered representing a robust 14.37% year on year (YoY) increase.
From January to September 2024, the nation witnessed the incorporation of 19,784 businesses, marking a striking 18% rise compared to the same period in the previous year, a testament to the country’s resolute recovery from the economic turbulence experienced in 2022.
The GEW week under the theme “Entrepreneurship is for Everyone” will unfold a rich tapestry of over 200 events and activities, uniting visionary leaders, innovative thinkers and business professionals across all 25 districts of Sri Lanka.
With the support of 100+ ecosystem partners and over 20 universities, this dynamic initiative aims to engage more than 20,000 participants. It offers a platform for forging meaningful connections, exchanging valuable insights and celebrating the resilient entrepreneurial spirit that fuels global advancement
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