SME business leaders recognised for commitment to excellence

W.K. Rajika Priyangani of Dickwella Hiru Fashion receives her certificate from USIAD Mission Director Reed Aeschliman. Hiru Fashion was recognised as Entrepreneur of the Year for Southern Province earlier in the week by National Enterprise Development Authority

Sri Lankan businesses that completed a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Management Development Training Program to help strengthen managerial and technical skills were recognised at an event held in Colombo last week. 

Facilitated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-supported BIZ+ program, more than 50 managers and business owners in Southern, Eastern, Northern, North Central, and Uva Provinces have participated in this program aiming to expand businesses, improve operations, and motivate workforce.For more than seven months, the businesses learned to implement business plans, create sustainable jobs in smaller communities, and drive improvements in supply chains.

USAID Mission Director Reed Aeschliman said at the event, “USAID’s assistance to the SME sector is not about financial investment alone. It is about investing in people and the private sector to lift lives and transform economies. USAID has assisted SMEs across the country to invest in its community, create jobs, develop skills, generate regional economic growth, and most importantly give hope to thousands of Sri Lankans for a better tomorrow.”

Sujeewani Gamage and Saman Thilakasiri proprietors of G Rose, a local personal care products company, felt the trainings helped bring enormous changes in their business, got them better organised, and helped to minimise waste and improve cost management. “We were also able to understand our own strengths and personality traits and bring in a good supporting structure to fill in the gaps,” Sujeewani added. The 12-part series of one-day workshops included topics such as cost management, new market development, productivity improvement, employee management and retention, operational safety, and health and digital marketing.

USAID’s BIZ+ program has provided more than 60 local businesses with financial, technical and managerial assistance across Sri Lanka. Since 2011, BIZ+ has invested Rs. 1.5 billion ($ 11.3 million) to support local businesses in hospitality, agriculture, coir, automobile services, handicraft, and food processing sectors.

For more information, please contact Sri Lanka BIZ+011-7391890/landolakes. [email protected].