Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce launch 2023 edition of ‘WCIC Prathibhabhisheka’

The Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce announced the launch of its flagship event “WCIC Prathibhabhisheka”, for 2023, to recognise and reward the outstanding women entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka and the SAARC Region.  

The Women Entrepreneur Awards 2023 invites outstanding women entrepreneurs, especially the ones who have braved the challenges in the past few years to share their story of resilience and achievements to compete for the coveted – WCIC Prathibhabhisheka – The Women Entrepreneur Awards 2023 at the award ceremony to be held in February 2024. 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,” stated WCIC Chairperson Anoji De Silva. 

On behalf of the organising committee, the Co-Chairs, Nilani Seneviratne and Gayani de Alwis, shared the following sentiments: “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 – 2022/23. Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards will be presented for each category. 

With a 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, The Woman of Courage, The Most Outstanding Export Oriented Entrepreneur (Product and Services) and The Best of the SAARC Region. We have expanded the special awards to cover other pertinent areas with Digital Entrepreneur, Most Innovative Entrepreneur and The Social Entrepreneur for 2023. The ceremony will culminate with the selection of “The Woman Entrepreneur of the year – 2023.” 

“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 20 December 2023,” stated Co-chairs Gayani de Alwis and Nilani Seneviratne. 

The Platinum Sponsor of the WCIC Prathibhabhisheka – Women Entrepreneur Awards 2023 is AIA Insurance Lanka; the Diamond Sponsor is DFCC Aloka (Banking Partner); Gold Sponsors include – McLarens Group and MAS Holdings; while the Bronze Sponsors are Hayleys, Causeway Paints, Imperial Teas, SLT-Mobitel (Telecom Partner), Dankotuwa Porcelain, DIMO and NIBM (Education Partner). Print and Social Media Partners include the Wijeya Group, Triad – Creative Partner and Ernst & Young – Knowledge Partner.