NDB principal sponsor of CCC’s SME forum

Thursday, 25 September 2014 00:34 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The NDB Bank has come forward to sponsor the upcoming ‘National Forum on Small and Medium Enterprises Empowerment 2014’, organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

NDB will be the lead bank and principal sponsor of the upcoming forum, which will be held across two days in Colombo and will conduct a comprehensive discussion on how to empower the country’s SME sector, which plays a pivotal role in the national economy. The Ceylon Chamber and NDB recently exchanged the sponsorship agreement at the NDB head office in Colombo. The exchange took place between CCC Solutions (a fully-owned subsidiary of Ceylon Chamber) CEO / MD, Chandula Abeywickrema, and Assistant Vice President Retail, SME and Micro Credit at NDB, Delrene Seneviratne. Others present at the occasion were Acting Secretary General of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Alikie Perera, Assistant Vice President, SME Banking at NDB, Indika Ranaweera, and Assistant Vice President, Sales and Marketing of NDB, Sanjaya Senarath. Project Manager of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Wijeratna, and Project Officer of the Chamber, Yasura Samarakoon, were also present.

Top state officials to speak at CCC SME forum

A lineup of top Government officials will attend the forthcoming SME forum, organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, to speak on empowering the country’s SME sector. Accordingly, Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development Ministry Secretary V. Sivagnanasothy, Technology and Research Ministry Secretary Dhara Wijayatilake, Commerce and Industry Ministry Secretary Anura Siriwardena, Treasury Deputy Secretary Dr. B.M.S Batagoda, National Enterprise Development Authority Chairman N. M. Shaheid and Industrial Technology Institute Chairman Prof. W. Abeywickreme will take the stage at the CCC’s SME forum. Dr. Batagoda will speak on the topic of ‘Institutional Support to Create Thriving SMEs’, while Prof. Abeywickrema will deliver a speech addressing the subject of ‘Upgrading SME capacity through Technology Transfer’. The rest of those attending will take part as panellists of the plenary session 1 of the event, which will discuss ‘Creating an Enabling Environment for SMEs in Sri Lanka: The role of the Public Sector’. The National Forum on Small and Medium Enterprises Empowerment 2014 will be held on 13 and 14 October 2014 in Colombo and will discuss the current status of the local SME sector and its way forward.