Over 500 MSMEs to meet President today at BMICH

Over 500 micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs will meet President Ranil Wickremesinghe today at 4 p.m. at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall under an initiative by the Ceylon Federation of MSMEs.

This historical meeting’s purpose is to prepare the necessary background for these entrepreneurs to present the current problems directly to the President and the relevant Government officials and get solutions to them.

The Ceylon Federation of MSMEs President Sashika De Silva said: ‘‘Our Federation represents entrepreneurs in all industrial sectors in every district of Sri Lanka. There are approximately 1.2 million MSMEs in our country. They have provided job opportunities to around 3 million of the labour force of the country. They are the backbone of the socio-economic fabric of Sri Lanka. But unfortunately, all these people are unable to run their own businesses and industries. They have many problems. The Government officials involved do not have an honest desire and commitment to solve them and encourage them and protect their industries.’’

‘‘This is why we spoke to President Ranil Wickremasinghe about this. For the first time in history, he gave the opportunity to meet all the micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs. Government officials involved in these fields will also participate in this meeting with the President. Therefore, this meeting is a very effective meeting for the field of micro, small and medium scale business,’’ said De Silva.

“Due to the entire economic crisis of the country including COVID-19 pandemic, foreign exchange shortage, petroleum shortage, struggle, inflation, rise in raw material prices, the micro, small and medium scale industries collapsed. As a result, our entrepreneurs have become debtors. Commercial banks have blacklisted them. Unable to pay their debts, they have now fallen into the situation of selling not only the industrial properties, but also their private houses and land. It is the hope of our forum to discuss and find solutions to many other important issues including this important issue.

The Ceylon Federation of MSMEs, in his vision, would serve as a dynamic platform at the grassroots level. It goes beyond resource-sharing, extending to comprehensive guidance from a collective pool of experts and authorities,” De Silva added.