COYLE organises forum for entrepreneurs themed ‘ALEC – Unite and Rebuild’

The Secretary of ALEC, Yasas Chandrasekara, MP Madhura Withanage, Sujeewa Rajapakse, Chairman of Peoples Bank, President of ALEC, Nishan Wasalathanthree, Chairman COYLE Rasith Wickramasinghe and Vice Chairman COYLE Manjula Wijesundera

The Chamber of Young Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE), organised a special forum where entrepreneurs from all scales and backgrounds in Sri Lanka came together under Alliance of Lankan Entrepreneurs Chamber (ALEC), themed ‘ALEC – Unite and Rebuild’.

The gathering focused on the strength of unity among entrepreneurs and the need for stable policies to foster business growth and economic expansion in the country. The Chief Guest at the event was the Chairman of Peoples Bank PLC, Sujeewa Rajapakse.

COYLE Chairman Rasith Wickramasinghe addressed the gathering and highlighted the importance of stable policies. He emphasized the detrimental effects of continual and often arbitrary fluctuations in policy making, stressing the responsibility of entrepreneurs to impart and disseminate knowledge for the welfare of their employees.

Going beyond just a Chamber of Commerce, COYLE represents a group of entrepreneurs with shared objectives.

The organization advocates for service development and improvement, grounded in core values of empowerment and sustainable economic development. Its efforts cover a range of sectors including textiles, IT, Construction, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Pharmaceuticals, Power and Energy, driven by its firm view that global business opportunities, in terms of imports and exports, remain heavily untapped by Sri Lanka.

ALEC President Nishan Wasalathanthree, addressed the gathering sharing the history and purpose of ALEC. Founded to represent Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, ALEC aims to create one voice for all entrepreneurs to face, mitigate and eradicate obstacles standing in the way of progress.

COYLE, with the creation of ALEC presently includes 28 such bodies with the master plan of connecting members throughout all nine districts.

The Secretary of ALEC, Yasas Chandrasekara, stressed the significance of entrepreneurs in the economy, and the need for a robust amalgamated chamber like COYLE to voice their concerns to the government.

He pointed out that despite contributing to foreign exchange, Sri Lankan entrepreneurs face challenges due to the absence of coherent foreign exchange policies. The Chief Guest, Chairman Peoples Bank Sujeewa Rajapakse, addressed serious concerns laid out by the gathering in terms of the lack of support for the SME sector. While the Central Bank has been reducing interest rates, state and private sector banks have not been able to transfer the benefits to customers. He cited among others, the fundamental problem being high prevailing counter interest costs caused by the high fixed deposit rates offered during the previous year to attract monies inward.

Madhura Withanage MP, present at the meeting, acknowledged the importance of changing government officers’ attitudes towards entrepreneurs, given that their salaries are paid with money earned by entrepreneurs.

He thanked COYLE for providing viable ideas and keen ground-level insights to the government. He proposed the formation of a programme that organizations like COYLE can lead to inspire strong young entrepreneurs.

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