Advocata to launch Red Tape Project on Thursday

The Advocata Institute will be hosting their latest event – titled (in Sinhala) ‘Podi business podi karana rathu pati regulasi epa’, or ‘no to red tape that destroys small businesses’ – on 5 March 2020, 6 p.m. onwards at the Lighthouse Auditorium and Lawns, LKI, 24, Horton Place, Colombo 07. 

This event will officially launch the Red Tape Project, and will be the culmination of their ongoing work on removing legal and regulatory barriers faced by small and micro entrepreneurs.  The objective of the Red Tape Project is to identify, study, and advocate for the removal of legal and regulatory barriers faced by businesses in Sri Lanka. As a first step towards the process, Advocata will be launching a report on ‘Legal and Regulatory Barriers for Micro and Small Entrepreneurs’. The event will also feature the launch of a website for entrepreneurs to submit their frustrations or views on red tape and government processes and regulations that need to be removed or simplified. 

The event will host a panel discussion among government stakeholders, policymakers and entrepreneurs, where barriers faced and reforms recommended will be discussed. 

Panellists include Dr. Sarath Rajapatirana (Chair, Academic Program, Advocata Institute); Milinda Rajapaksha (Councillor, Colombo Municipal Council); Achala Samaradiwakara (Co-Founder and Managing Director, Good Market) and a representative from the President’s Office. 

As a component of this project, Advocata Institute hosted the #MystoryLK online competition where business entrepreneurs islandwide submitted stories of the barriers they faced when starting and running a business in Sri Lanka. 

The winners of this competition will also be announced and awarded at the event. The individual whose story wins first place will receive Rs. 100,000. Second place will receive Rs. 50,000, and third place will receive Rs. 25,000. In addition to this, all shortlisted entries will receive valuable consolation prizes.

Advocata is an independent policy think tank based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. They conduct research, provide commentary, and hold events to promote sound policy ideas compatible with a free society in Sri Lanka. Visit advocata.org for more information.