Central Province and Hambantota District women entrepreneurs share experiences

The Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) and the Central Province Women’s Chamber of Commerce jointly conducted a program from 27-28 January in Kandy, for women entrepreneurs of the Hambantota District and the Central Province to share their experiences.

Present at the occasion were committee members including Hambantota District Women Entrepreneurs Forum Chairperson Chithra Sumanaseeli, HDCC Past Presidents Azmi Thassim and Tiller Nadugala, HDCC Chief Executive Officer Krishanthi Weerasinghe, Central Province Women’s Chamber of Commerce Chairperson Shirley Jayawardena and Central Province Women’s Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer S. Samarajiva and eight other directors.

In addition to holding discussions, participants were able to see the results of the creative business capabilities of the women entrepreneurs in the Kandy area.

HDCC, which was the first Chamber of Commerce to be established at district level in 1993, and caters to the interests of both male and female entrepreneurs without discrimination, but established the Women’s Forum with the objective of providing a better service to women entrepreneurs from a practical point of view.

From its inception, the chamber paid attention in developing the capacity of women entrepreneurs. The organisation achieved a milestone in 2008 for the first time, when three women entrepreneurs were appointed to the Board of Directors of the Chamber.

That situation has developed further with the appointment of a fourth women entrepreneur to the Board, as at present.

From June 2011 to January 2013, various programs and workshops (business management, positive thoughts/attitudes, customer service, skills development and leadership training) were conducted in order to develop the capacity of women entrepreneurs with financial aid provided, to a project being implemented by the USAID regional governance cooperation Program.

This has resulted in the establishment of the ‘Hambantota District Women Entrepreneurs forum’ for the benefit of women entrepreneurs within the chamber, represented by women who participated in the programs and workshops.

Special attention has been paid to develop the capacity of both women who directly engage in a business and those who actively contribute to the development of a family business.

During discussions held on the second day themed on ‘Sharing the experiences’, members of the executive committee of the Central Province Women’s Chamber of Commerce including its Chairperson, explained the manner in which women entrepreneurs of Kandy, contribute to the activities of the Women’s Chamber, in addition to attending to their domestic and business activities and how this has enabled the Chamber to carry out its duties successfully.

It was agreed that both chambers should consider the establishment of market linkages between women entrepreneurs of Kandy and Hambantota and both parties should explore possibilities of promoting their products together by providing market opportunities to each other, in the future.

Speaking at the occasion Krishanthi said: “The aim of the chamber was to establish strong and independent women to represented women entrepreneurs. It is for this purpose that this forum was established. A woman has a responsibility to fulfil her duties as a wife and mother, at the same time a woman has the capability to make contribution more to the improvement of the family finances while attending to such duties and support the countries economy.

“Many believe that being a woman is an obstacle to achieving ones goals. But we believe that there are no such obstacles for women just as for men, to achieve their goals if they build their own identity and are provided equal opportunities.

“Through the women’s collective our endeavour is to create a suitable environment for women entrepreneurs. To make this endeavour a success, the assistance provided under the USAID project has been a blessing. It is our belief that today by coming together as women entrepreneurs in this program, it was possible for women entrepreneurs from Hambantota to acquaint themselves with the experiences of the Central Province Women’s Chamber of Commerce and this will enable them to further develop their own businesses, strengthen their capabilities, and map their future strategies.”