Ceylon Chamber Centre for SMEs holds webinar on navigating businesses during COVID-19

The Centre for SMEs of The Ceylon Chamber successfully concluded a webinar on Thursday (9), that focused on assisting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on how to navigate their businesses during COVID-19. The webinar, sponsored by Seylan Bank, received an overwhelming response with over 400 registrations within a few days of its announcement.

The resource persons featured Dr. Nirmal de Silva, Co-founder/CEO of Paramount Realty, and Board Director, Regional Development Bank; Yasas Hewage, Director/Co-founder at Snipexx Academy of Business; and Lasintha Ferdinando, Principal Consultant, JKSE Consultants Ltd. Each panellist discussed re-evaluating business models of SMEs, marketing strategies, and financial management, among other topics. Moderated by Chandra Vithanage, Senior Assistant Secretary General of the Ceylon Chamber, the panel was followed by an interactive Q&A session.

Key takeaways of the session included:

The need for entrepreneurs to rethink and transform their business models, to utilise existing assets and cater to needs that are now in demand

Having stricter financial management and looking at key essentials for the time being, by managing working capitals and handling cashflows better

Recognising that a company’s best asset is its human resources, so to tackle challenges as problem-solvers and entrepreneurs instead of businessmen

Having to be innovative with marketing strategies and utilise web platforms instead of traditional methods

Remembering there’s always a silver lining, and to keep an eye out for new opportunities that may arise during this period, and take them into consideration

The Ceylon Chamber Centre for SMEs will continue to work closely with Small and Medium businesses, aspiring entrepreneurs and startups. The Centre offers a wide range of vital business services including business registration, advice, legal services, finance and tax expertise, and expert coaching. For assistance with any of the above, find the Centre on Facebook at Centre for SMEs, or email [email protected], [email protected].