Power of women entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka

The Power of Women as Entrepreneurs needs special recognition, and the government needs to facilitate them to find new export markets and financial assistance to expand their businesses.  We all know that the private sector especially, the SME sector is the engine of growth, and most of the businesses are severely affected due to ongoing economic conditions and new Tax systems discourage small businesses from competing with other players in the business.     

The aim of this article is to create greater awareness of the role played by Women entrepreneurs and give them due recognition. We will be celebrating Women Entrepreneurs Day on 8 March 2024.

Female entrepreneurs around the world have played a very vital role during the past few decades. The number of women entrepreneurs has increased all across the globe. These female entrepreneurs have proven themselves to be pivotal change-makers in society.

 The power of women entrepreneurs is reflected in the following important areas when it comes to the economic development of a country.

1. Economic growth: promoting more female entrepreneurs means more successful businesses and significant economic contributions ensure economic growth.

2. Reduce the Gender wealth gap: By promoting women›s entrepreneurs› opportunities in turn, we are able to start accumulating wealth. This will help to reduce the wealth gap and contribute to improving the quality of life of families across the board.

3. Entrepreneurship might suit some women’s needs better.

4.  Female entrepreneurs can fill a gap by creating more women–tailored businesses.

The women entrepreneur who is a business leader looks for ideas and puts them into effect in fostering economic growth and development. Entrepreneurship is one of the most important inputs in the economic development of a country. Thus, women entrepreneurs act as catalyst agents for change which results in a chain reaction creating an environment of enthusiasm and overall development of the economy.

The Asia Pacific Institute of Money and Entrepreneurship Development (IMED) was established two years ago in February 2022. As a dedicated institute providing an ecosystem for Entrepreneurship development and promoting financial literacy education for those who are in business as well as startup businesses and youth who are dreaming of starting their business ventures. They must be equipped with the right competency to take on business challenges, make prudent business decisions, risk-taking and move forward.

When we look at Sri Lanka›s economy you will be surprised even though we are a high-literacy country currently, around 3% of people are involved in entrepreneurial business, this is a very low rate when compared to developing countries.  Out of 3% well-established women entrepreneurs are contributing to our GDP and most of them are with sustainable business models.

We IMED together with other institutions involved in entrepreneurship development wanted to enhance this amount within the next five years to double. This is not an easy task; we all must join hands to promote the SME sector and invite new entrepreneurs to start new business ventures. guide them to get on the right track and motivate them to innovative products and services aimed at the export market.

Let us motivate them to do better and recognise them as job and wealth creators in our economy.

(The writer is the Chief Operating Officer, Asia Pacific Institute of Money and Entrepreneurship Development and holds Chartered-CIPM, DBFA, SCBA, PQHRM, FCPM, MBA (UK) qualifications)