Ceylon Chamber of Commerce sets up centre for SMEs

Thursday, 14 May 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has established a centre for SMEs in a bid to play a more active role in building this dynamic sector of the economy.

It said the Chamber hitherto has been offering a range of services to SMEs through different departments within the Chamber as well as through a large number of donor funded development projects. The Chamber has also worked very closely with relevant Government agencies, SME Development Organisations and the Regional Chamber Network in extending business development services and resolving regulatory barriers.

However, the absence of a focal point for SMEs at the Ceylon Chamber has led to a lack of adequate awareness among SMEs as well as other SME sector stakeholders about the services offered and contribution made by the Chamber for SME sector development.

“The establishing of a centre for SMEs was initiated to minimise these gaps and for the Chamber to play a more active role in building a dynamic SME sector in Sri Lanka,” it said in a statement. The Centre for SMEs will assist and guide SMEs to be geared, skilled, and informed to face the demands and trends of the future business world. Services of the centre will include: Business advisory services and professional business development services to improve performance; Facilitating market and business linkages; Assistance to resolve regulatory barriers faced by SMEs and a conducive environment to foster SMEs through influencing policy. This will be conducted through seminars, webinars, workshops, and training programs, in addition to providing business advisory services and business counselling. The centre will also organise SME Forums in the region to increase outreach of business development services, and create an SME platform to facilitate an active dialogue on constraints, challenges, and operational issues faced by SMEs. This will in turn, influence minimising legal and regulatory barriers.

Previously, services offered to the SMEs were provided through the different divisions of the Ceylon Chamber, including the Foreign Trade and Information Desk, Projects, YBSL, GS1, the Economic Intelligence Unit, and more. With the launch of the Centre for SMEs, the Chamber will be able to take an integrated approach to, and improve the dynamics of the SME sector moving forward.

For more information, please contact,

Chandrarathna Vithanage – +94 77 2200 771/[email protected]

V.K. Guru – +94 75 7287 151/[email protected]

Yasura Samarakoon – +94 77 7486 558/[email protected]

Mohomed Inshaf – +94 75 7374 135/[email protected]