WCIC signs MOU with PIM Genesis Incubator

WCIC Chairperson Chathuri Ranasinghe and PIM Director Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri signing the MOU at the PIM Boardroom

The Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC), the premier chamber dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs and professionals, partnered with PIM Genesis incubator and signed an MOU on 2 October.   Established in 1985 as the first women-only chamber by a team of visionary females in the organisation, it has today grown in stature, width and contribution.  WCIC Chairperson Chathuri Ranasinghe and PIM Director Prof. Ajantha Dharmasiri signed the MOU to work collaboratively to support entrepreneurship among women to start business ventures on their own.   With the able guidance of PIM Genesis incubator, WCIC Incubator ‘Aspire’ plans to support women owned business start-ups and early stage of new business ventures by providing safe harbour, intensive resources and a development environment in which they can flourish and scale up their businesses. 

Specialised training and handholding through the initial stages with mentoring by industry specialists are some of the added features of project Aspire.  Business incubation is a unique and highly flexible business development process; WCIC Aspire with PIM Genesis is designed to nurture new and small businesses by helping them to survive and grow through the difficult and vulnerable early stages of development.

The goal of the collaboration is to help, create and grow young women-led businesses by providing them with necessary support and technical services. 

Staying in line with WCIC’s vision, this initiative is aimed at increasing the female labour force participation and contribution to improving their lives while stimulating the socio-economic growth.

PIM Genesis Mentor Dr. Travis Perera said that PIM Genesis Incubator was currently focused towards branding it as a facilitator par excellence and to take it forward to a new level. In this season, PIM Genesis will embark on making partnerships with various organisations that deal with entrepreneurs to extend their operation to another level that will benefit the start-up businesses to make it to the mainstream of the economy. 

Two MBA students inaugurated PIM Genesis in 2014 at PIM and it is the business incubation facility provided by the Postgraduate Institute of Management, which specifically targets its mission towards grooming the start-up businesses initiated by the PIM MBAs.  This facility assists PIM entrepreneurs by providing facility-based services (work space and utility services), creating opportunities for networking and partnering with the leading local business firms as well as other business professionals and also by providing mentorships.