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Organised by the National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) under the Industry and Commerce Ministry and co-organised by the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC), this awards series is designed to encourage the region’s SMEs and business community to practice modern business methods, achieve high levels of entrepreneurship and create a pathway for them to venture into new areas of businesses.
NEDA picked 17 winners after a rigorous process from 85 applications for this year’s awards. The 17 winners were felicitated at the glittering event in Matara. Interestingly, almost all the winners in the SPBEA were simple folks with humble beginnings in basic commodities such as coconut shell trading and tea trading, thereafter making it big due to their sheer perseverance.
As for the Southern Province, around 20,000 SMEs have been identified as ‘active SMEs’ in the Province by NEDA, of which more than 2,900 are in Hambantota District, as per HDCC. HDCC was the first-ever Chamber of Commerce to have commenced in a district in Sri Lanka, starting way back in 1993. Most of the provincial SMEs belong to small scale (with less than 50 employees), and are of single person ownership.
M.M.M. Wakeel (southern tea industrialist and Proprietor of Pathma Group) won the ‘Best of the Best Southern Entrepreneur 2014’ award while the young SME exporter B.J.J.C. Abeyratne (Proprietor, Samagi Spice Exports) clinched the ‘Best Export 
Enterprise’ Award on 30 September.
“In Sri Lanka’s context, more than 65% of its GDP comes from the SME sector, such as yours. The capacity building initiatives for southern entrepreneurs in technology and business ability is one such effort. Also an important effort by NEDA, for southern entrepreneurs is the Integrated Entrepreneurship Forum. Our development officers from NEDA directly work with southern entrepreneurs on a regular basis to support them in every way. In fact, as part of identifying issues faced by the SMEs, NEDA recently launched the first online issue tracker and SME Business Barometer in Sri Lanka, at a cost of $ 13,000, funded by the Asia Foundation. This issue tracker will focus on the problems and difficulties, of SMEs such as yours,” said Bathiudeen.
“NEDA is also engaged in forming District Enterprise Forums (DEF) in all districts of the country. District Enterprise Forums will be a source of input to this system, which is identified as an effective tool to find solutions, to issues impacting on the growth and development of the SMEs. The issue tracker is designed to systematically track issues which emerge from various Enterprise Forums and working groups. I urge the southern entrepreneurs here today to support NEDA’s District Enterprise Forums. More importantly, I urge you to make use of the latest issue tracker initiative by NEDA to develop your businesses,” he added.
Many recipients praised NEDA’s Awards effort. Abeyratne said: “We are most delighted about this recognition. This NEDA Awards series is a strong motivation for SME entrepreneurs like us. As SMEs, I thank the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, NEDA for the support we continuously receive for our export efforts.”
Abeyratne, who won the 2013 NCE Export Award and who exported more than 100 containers of cinnamon alone, regularly exports various spices to top US buyers including California’s Peterson Spices (Pico Rivera, California), as well as Mexico.
