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Saturday, 23 June 2018 00:30 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera yesterday termed entrepreneurs the new engine of growth and called forth a fresh economic impetus from their creativity to drive forward growth that would foster 100,000 new entrepreneurs by 2020.
Speaking at the launch of the ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’ program in Colombo on Friday, Samaraweera emphasised on the need for Sri Lanka to develop a comprehensive entrepreneurship structure that encourages people, especially graduates, to embark on building their own businesses.
He pointed out that many other countries had developed programs specifically targeted at grooming entrepreneurs, which had boosted growth and created job opportunities for rural communities.
“In Sri Lanka, we still have as few as 25,000 youth gaining public university admission every year. Even though many others resort to private universities and vocational training, there is still a gap regarding entrepreneurship. We have to change this trend and enable young people to use their creativity and new technology to find new growth paths for the economy,” the Finance Minister said.
Samaraweera called on banks to support entrepreneurs by engaging more holistically with them, including formulating businesses plans and conducting feasibility assessments as many entrepreneurs may lack the ability to come with comprehensive plans to banks.
He also advocated that banks should proactively seek out entrepreneurs and attempt to provide solutions to their capital requirements. The role of banks would need to evolve from taking deposits and giving out consumption-related loans to supporting entrepreneurs.
He also stressed the need to establish entrepreneur windows in State banks such as People’s Bank and Bank of Ceylon, as well as regional development banks to cater to entrepreneurs. These banks would also have relationship managers to exclusively deal with entrepreneurs seeking loans under Enterprise Sri Lanka. The Finance Minister also expressed hope that private sector banks would also join their State counterparts in this endeavour.
“As many as 100 loan schemes currently offered by banks would be restructured under this ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’ program. It is estimated that about 150,000 youth are unemployed in Sri Lanka. These people are prey to extremist organisations, drugs and the underworld because they feel that they are not capable to lead productive lives. We must show them that that is not the case, and that we are ready to assist them in becoming worthwhile citizens,” the Minister added.
Samaraweera also outlined special provisions for female entrepreneurs, pointing out that they would be given special consideration. If 10 people or more begin a business and half of them are women, then they will be given an additional 10% relief in interest rates. Differently-abled people will also be given similar concessions with interest rate relief.
“When we talk of entrepreneurship for women, they are often just given sewing machines. But, women have the same capacity as men to start, manage and expand a business. Yet there are shortages in opportunities open to them, and we must change that and empower women to take their rightful place in our economy,” he stated.
