Boost for smaller businesses for sustainable growth

Tuesday, 12 November 2013 00:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Commonwealth Environmental Investment Plan Sri Lankan hub to be launched on Thursday

By Cheranka Mendis Time and again, business and political leaders have stressed the importance of boosting smaller businesses such as entrepreneurs and start-ups in order to create a level of growth that fosters equality in wealth distribution. On another level, world leaders have also noted, that for sustainable economic expansion, it is important to factor in environmental conservation or eco protection in to the equation. While a gap between these two essentials has existed, more and more concentration is now drawn towards bridging this gap, creating a system that honours both areas of business. With the new Commonwealth Environmental Investment Platform (CEIP) now launching its Sri Lankan hub, local businesses stand to benefit greatly in terms of financial assistance and expertise in growing their lines of work sustainably. To be launched this Thursday (14 November), CEIP is a pan-Commonwealth network linking entrepreneurs and companies in the environmental sector to each other and to international investors. Its focus is to be on environmental enterprise and the enabling of sustainable innovation.

The entire initiative was launched in March this year by The Royal Commonwealth Society and Forbury Investment Network UK, and includes accords with the new Commonwealth Charter signed during the same period, which address commitments to sustainable development, free and fair flow of multilateral trade, protection of the environment, deployment of environmentally friendly technologies and renewable energy. The platform for this is backed by Clarkslegal firm-UK and the commonwealth societies. Global network Sri Lanka joins a network of hub that already includes England, Wales, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Seychelles along with Maldives. In the pipeline are countries such as India to join in the platform as hubs in the future. The Hub Operators in Sri Lanka are General Engineers (GE) CEO and Motha Capital investment (MCI) Director Roshan Motha and UNOPS Head of National Portfolio Development Sri Lanka and Maldives Rohantha Athukorala. Speaking to the Daily FT, Motha noted that the CEIP is a place where locals can submit sustainable environmental investment projects to the platform, which will receive funding if they comply with a list of credentials put together by CEIP. “As Hub Operators we look at projects, start-ups, see whether they are sustainable or are green projects and then launch them to the platform by sending it to the UK for approval,” Motha explained. The key industries being looked at by the operators are renewable energy, fashion design, eco and boutique hotels, conservation projects and other small industry projects that require funding. He noted that the funding will come from the commonwealth. “We will look for the funds in the commonwealth,” Motha revealed. When asked how Sri Lanka can champion the cause of sustainable investment, he noted that the country has a superb opportunity among the other hubs and that it has already signed up a local company with another in the pipeline. Funding benefits “We already have our first customer for the platform, Carbon Consulting Company (CCC), where we can sell carbon credit to the commonwealth through our platform and develop through that unit,” Motha added. Carbon credit are where big companies offset their carbon or the usage of carbon and fuels by buying credits, through which they can reduce greenhouse gases by opting to restore forests, update power plants and reduce factories or increase energy efficiency of buildings and transportation, contributing to the global greenhouse gas emission reduction without making radical changes on their own plants and companies. With CCC, companies can use the carbon credits at the Sinharaja forest reserve. Also in the pipeline is Energy Solve International Ltd., an energy reduction consultant company. “Funding is the key benefit local companies could derive out of the platform while it also gives them an opportunity to highlight their name in the commonwealth. The funding starts from $ 5000 and could go up into the millions. “Business between commonwealth countries is lacking. This hub can set up a total environment where we can talk to each other, partake in business forum and have greater exchange of enterprise in the fast growing sector of environmental goods and services,” Motha added. CEIP Chairman Michael Sippit will travel down from the UK for the launch reception on Thursday. “Sri Lanka has been registering a 7% GDP growth in the last couple of years and is poised to unleash a more robust growth and development agenda to support the increased economic activities,” Motha said. “Entrepreneurs, start-ups and angel networks are now looking for funding for hydro, eco tourism, renewable energy and water management projects in today’s booming economy which is poised to become a $ 100 billion one by 2016.”