WCIC announces Women Entrepreneur Awards 2022

From left: DFCC Vice President Shera Hassen, Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce Immediate Past Chairperson Indrani Fernando, Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce Chairperson Anoji de Silva, Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce 1st Vice Chairperson Ramani Ponnambalam, and Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce Co-Chair Tusitha Kumarakulasingam – Pix by Lasantha Kumara

By Tania de Silva

The Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce recently announced the Women Entrepreneur Awards 2022 to recognise outstanding women entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka and the SAARC region.

The awards titled ‘WCIC Prathibhabisheka: The Women Entrepreneur Awards 2022’ is powered by DFCC Aloka. The Sanskrit word ‘Prathibha’ means excellence.

“The re-launch of awards is structured to assess the business in a holistic manner. We invite outstanding women entrepreneurs, especially the ones who have braved the challenges in the past years to share their story of resilience and achievements to compete for the coveted – WCIC Prathibhabisheka – the Women Entrepreneur Awards 2022 – powered by DFCC Aloka at the award ceremony to be held in January 2023. The Awards will honour women entrepreneurs for their tenacity to scale and grow, and for their contribution and impact on the economy. Whilst the competition is primarily for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, we have also included an opportunity for women in the SAARC region to compete in a special category,” WCIC Chairperson Anoji De Silva said.

Awards Co-Chairs Ramani Ponnambalam and Tusitha Kumarakulasingam said: “We will be accepting applications under the categories – Start-up, Micro, Small, Medium and Large. Each category will have a specified revenue for the year under review – 2021/22. Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards will be presented for each category. With the view to identify and promote regional women entrepreneurs, we will encourage applications from all the provinces in the country and select the ‘Best of the Region’ from each province. The women will also be considered for the coveted special awards – Young Woman Entrepreneur, Outstanding Start-up, Most Positively Abled Woman Entrepreneur, The Most Outstanding Export Oriented Entrepreneur, and The Best of the SAARC Region. The ceremony will culminate with the selection of the ‘Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2022’. 

“The entry kit can be downloaded from www.wcicsl.lk and completed and submitted to the WCIC along with all the material required to substantiate the applicant’s story. Entries close on 31 October,” added Kumarakulasingam.  

WCIC Prathibhabisheka – Women Entrepreneur Awards 2022 is powered by DFCC Aloka, as the Platinum Sponsor, with Gold Sponsors – McLarens Group, LOLC Holdings Plc, Hayleys Leisure Plc, and AIA Insurance Lanka Ltd., (Exclusive Insurance Partner), Silver – Finez Capital Ventures. Print and Social Media Partners are Wijeya Newspapers Group and Electronic Media Partner – ABC Network with Triad as their Creative Partner and Ernst and Young as Knowledge Partner. 

Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) is the premier organisation supporting entrepreneurs and professional businesswomen. The membership is open to women who believe they can contribute to society as well as benefit from the many facilities the organisation creates. WCIC Prathibhabisheka was re-launched this year as a flagship property, to recognise and reward outstanding women entrepreneurs who make a contribution to the Sri Lanka economy.