SL participates in 4th Ambassador Forum on Entrepreneurship and SME Development – East Meets West in

Ambassador of Sri Lankato Bahrain Dr. A. Saj U. Mendis, and Ambassador of Germany to Bahrain Alfred Simms-Protz, at the ‘Ambassador Forum on SME and Entrepreneurship Development’ which was moderated and chaired by former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Dhafer Al Umran 

The high-profile fourth Ambassadors Forum on Entrepreneurship and SME Development – East Meets West in Bahrain was conducted and organised by the Bahrain SMEs Society and Union of Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) Entrepreneurs under the patronage of Vision 2030 of the Crown Prince of Bahrain. 

Each year this regional forum selects two serving ambassadors with extensive experience in the sphere of Entrepreneurship Development and SMEs to speak on the topic and to reflect insights and thoughts of their respective regions and the world at large. 

This year Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Bahrain Dr. A .Saj. U. Mendis and Ambassador of Germany to Bahrain Alfred Simms-Protz were invited to address the forum respectively. Former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Ambassador Dr. Dhafer Alumran, moderated the forum. 

A large number of select invitees were present including secretaries and senior officials of ministries, senior bureaucrats and technocrats, ambassadors and diplomats based in Bahrain, corporate executives and leaders, presidents and board members of SMEs and entrepreneur associations in the region and academia among others.  

The moderator and both the speakers accentuated the vitality and seminality of the SME sector to any country, be it a developed nation or a developing nation. Ambassador Dr. Mendis in his address stated that the Government of Sri Lanka was attaching an increasing degree of importance and significance to the SME sector and to entrepreneurship development. This is particularly because a vibrant and robust SME sector coupled with entrepreneurship development could fuel economic and commercial advancement. 

Further, both the speakers added that the SME sector was often referred and defined as the backbone of any given economy. However, the critical role played by the SME sector has not been extended due prominence and significance opposed to Fortune 500 companies and other large multinational corporates. 

Dr. Mendis stressed that the development of the SME sector could reduce unemployment and inequality and engender innovative ideas, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship, thus unleashing entrepreneurial capabilities and unlocking potentials. He also stated the Government policy framework fosters and nurtures micro-enterprises to become small enterprises to become mid-size enterprises to large enterprises to national players and regional players respectively.

The Ambassador of Germany stated that over 99% of enterprises and firms in the European Union were categorised as SMEs. He expounded in detail the assistance and cooperation extended by the Government of Germany to uplift and enhance the efficacy of the SME sector. 

He also added that with Germany being the fourth largest economy in the world, the SME sector and entrepreneurial development played a critical role in the advancement of the economy. 

The moderator and both the speakers stated that almost all Fortune 500 and listed companies in the world began as micro-enterprises (MSMEs), defined as having less than 10 employees. 

It was interesting to note that the largest money center banks, manufacturing companies and global technology behemoths such as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google began not only as MSMEs but also in garages. Both the speakers enunciated the fact that these global companies and their respective founders had a well-defined vision to make them global players within a particular passage of time.  

The key objectives of the Ambassador Forum were to exchange innovative ideas with different companies as well as with countries, to explore strategies to evolve and map out entrepreneurship development in different countries with varying degrees of advancement, to find out challenges confronted by the global fraternity of SMEs and cross-fertilisation of varied experiences of countries, among others. 

Further, the SME Society and Union of GCC Entrepreneurs expressed keenness and eagerness to work and to nurture the SME sector, particularly with developing nations such as Sri Lanka. 

Ambassador Simms-Protz is one of the most senior career Foreign Service Officers of the German Foreign Service and is a senior lawyer by profession. He is on the board of directors/members of a number of mid-sized to large corporates in Europe. 

Ambassador Dr. Mendis obtained his PhD. in International Economic Policy with a focus on SME/Entrepreneurial Development from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi and is a visiting faculty and guest speaker at a number of universities and academic institutions including NTU of Singapore, Boston University, the Graduate Institute of Policy Studies of Tokyo, Indian Institute of Finance of Delhi and Harvard, among others.  

The Ambassadors of Germany and Sri Lanka addressing the select audience at the “Ambassador Forum on SME and Entrepreneurship Development” which was moderated by the former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain