PUM Netherlands Senior Experts technology transfer brings benefits to over 500 local SMEs

(From left): PUM Sri Lanka Project Officer Ellen Schraven, PUM Sri Lanka Representative S.P.C. Kumarasinghe, Netherlands Ambassador Joanne Doornewaard, PUM CEO Thijs Van Praag and PUM Sri Lanka Country Coordinator Cees Van Dijl 

– Pix by Shehan Gunasekara

The new Netherlands Ambassador Joanne Doornewaard was the Chief Guest at the country team meeting of PUM Netherlands Senior Experts, an awareness presentation of their services to local entrepreneurs at the Liberty Ballroom of Hotel Ramada Colombo. PUM CEO Thijs van Praag, Country Coordinator Cees van Dijl and Project Officer Ellen Schraven arrived in Sri Lanka for this meeting. The CEOs and the representatives of about 40 companies took part in this event. 

Thijs van Praag in his welcome speech said that PUM have assisted over 33,000 entrepreneurs in 70 countries around the world during past 30 years by sending Dutch experts to advise them to get over technological and management problems in the respective industries. PUM works with senior experts who gained over 30 years of business experience and share their expertise on a voluntary basis with entrepreneurs in developing countries to take away bottle necks and facilitating sustainable paths for growth.

In her keynote address the Ambassador said that she was happy to address the entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka who support the development of the economy of the country. The government of the Netherlands now promotes investors from the Netherlands to invest in Sri Lanka which has a good source of skilled personal in variety of sectors in industry and services providing organisations.

The PUM Country Coordinator Cees van Dijl made a power point presentation to explain why and how PUM Netherlands Senior Experts operate throughout the world. He further said PUM is funded by the government of the Netherlands and the Employers Federation of the Netherlands because they believe small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are a source of innovation, supply larger companies with services, create employment, contribute to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and generate tax revenue. Also he said that now PUM has appointed four local representatives in Sri Lanka covering: North, Northeast – Gnanaganeshan Chellappah, Southern Region – D. Mahinda Padmasiri, Colombo, Western, Northwestern Regions – S.P.C. Kumarasinghe and Central, Sabaragamuwa Regions – Bandula Hennadige, and hope to complete 50 projects this year. 

PUM local representative S.P.C. Kumarasinghe showed pictures of projects carried out recently in Sri Lanka covering many sectors of manufacturing industry, agriculture, dairy and horticulture. He further said that PUM Netherlands Senior Experts has been active in Sri Lanka from 1990 onwards and assisted over 500 SMEs in Sri Lanka during past three decades. More than two hundred selected personals form assisted companies were sent to the Netherlands for further training and business links.