Innovation vital to fast-track financial success says Eran

By Waruni Paranagamage

State Enterprises Development Deputy Minister Eran Wickramaratne yesterday said that Sri Lanka needs a vision for innovation and added that is it vital to create a partnership between industry and academia.

Noting that the operating environment highlights the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship he said: “Innovation is vital to fast-track the financial success of a country. However when merit and competitive capability don’t form the basis on which contracts are awarded or success is derived, the movement towards innovation and entrepreneurship is undermined. 

Corruption drives people to increase their profits by other means and tears away their attention from innovation.”

As a result, he said that Sri Lanka still relies on tea and apparel for almost 50% of its exports when it should be developing high tech exports to remain competitive in the global economy.

The Minister made these remarks delivering the keynote address at the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Sri Lanka Annual Conference 2015 last evening at the Galadari Hotel on the theme ‘Fast-Tracking Financial Success’.

President Maithripala Sirisena inaugurated the conference which was attended by a large gathering of over 600 personnel including business leaders, policymakers, senior financial professionals, AAT Sri Lanka members and other dignitaries.

“It’s a well-known fact how from the year 2000 to 2015, the country’s competitiveness as well as its share of exports has drastically dropped as a percentage of GDP almost in half.”

He went on to say that financial success does not just depend on creativity, ingenuity and hard work of Sri Lankan workers and entrepreneurs, but also depends on systemic elements – that is institutional governance structures in all parts of the country’s economy.

“By governance structures, I am not simply referring to governance in the public sector but also to private sector and corporate governance,” he noted.

He pointed out that if a business environment permits space for corruption, to leverage an advantage over its competition people will devote their time and energies into exploiting those means rather than innovating. 

“An immediate problem affecting the financial heads of Sri Lanka is corruption. I have been one of those individuals who have had the opportunity of working both in the private sector and also participating in the public sector. Often financial success is driven not by ability but by advantages begotten by undue means,” he added.

Corruption should end for more than one reason, he stated, adding that it’s not just about the transaction or the deal but also the debilitating impact on the economy and the country.