Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce marks 20 years of pioneering service
Thursday, 23 January 2014 00:00
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa to officiate at celebrations on 27 January
The Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HCCC) celebrates 20 years of exemplary service to the business community and young people of the district this year. Established on 9 August, 1993, the HCCC is the first District Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka and amongst the few legendary institutions in Sri Lanka to hold such an unbroken record.
The Primary objective of this pioneering exercise was to promote and develop the economic advancement of the district through good business practices and progressive entrepreneurship. Hence, this long felt need, among the business community of the District, was fulfilled by this chamber.
HDCC began as an association in 1990 under a Government initiative that encouraged young new entrepreneurs to collaborate with existing businesses. In 1993, with technical and financial assistance from USAlD, the HDCC was formally incorporated, and since then has worked in cooperation with the national level chambers, the Government of Sri Lanka and many INGOs - as well as with multi-lateral and bi-lateral donor agencies and their projects.
Also about this time the Hambantota Integrated Rural Development Project (HIRDEP), under the auspices of the then Ministry of Plan Implementation and funded by NORAD, setup the Hambantota Entrepreneur Service Centre (HESC) – a one stop shop for the entrepreneurs of the district.
Then at the end of the 90s, HIRDEP setup in 1979 with a 20 year life span was nearing the end of its tenure and looking for somebody to takeover HESC. They didn’t have to look too far nor, for too long either. There couldn’t have been a more natural choice than the HDCC to undertake the adoption of the HESC. It was the then Government of Norway through the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo that stepped in via its connection through the HESC.
Over the last ten years RNE has, under a number of agreements, provided a significant proportion of the funding that HDDC has needed in order to serve the business community, and also to support it in its work to enhance the overall economic status of the Hambantota District. As well as working to enhance the capacity of HDCC to fulfil its primary mission, the RNE and HDCC have worked together on other major projects in the district and region, most notably on tsunami relief and in the provision of access to financial services for the region’s SME communities.
Business community facilitator
HDCC facilitates the business community with information, technology, exposure and lobbying with the banks for access to funds and organises the workshops and training programs to improve the capacity of the business people as well as their staff members.
Recognising that one of the major causes of the violence in the south of Sri Lanka in the late 1980s was youth unemployment, the HDCC determined that it must implement programs designed to address this crucial issue.
The Career Service Centre (CSC) commenced delivering careers services as a part of HDCC in 1996 with initial support from the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). The CSC has adopted the following mission: “To provide outstanding careers and skills support to young people and recruitment and workforce development services to employers.”
The CSC was successfully established and provides a secretariat for a well-regarded and functioning Vocational Training Consortium (VTC) across the District, comprising of public and independent institutions providing vocational and technical training and related services.
The HDCC decided to address the problem of youth unemployment by assisting young people to consider entrepreneurship as a real alternative to employment and to give them the skills and finance to make a success of starting and developing their own businesses.
The HYBP was a direct outcome of this vision, providing training, mentoring, and start-up loans at subsidised interest rates for young people aged 18-35, who had tried and failed to obtain finance from more conventional sources.
The HYBP was legally constituted in 1997 as an independent trust (the Hambantota Youth Business Trust) under the management of HDCC but with its own Board of Trustees. It was started in association with the Princes’ Youth Business International (YBI), in order to establish a program based on the principles of The Prince’s Trust and the Prince of Wales’ International Business Leaders Forum in the UK.
YBI is one of the Prince of Wales’ groups of charities, which oversees a network of 40 youth business programs worldwide. In September 2007, HDCC collaborated with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) to form Youth Business Sri Lanka (YBSL), which is extending the program to other parts of the country. HYBP is being used as the model for this initiative.
Volunteer involvement
HDCC has worked with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) for more than fifteen years, during which time a number of volunteers have worked to enhance the capacity of the HDCC staff.
In early 2005 the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) and its service delivery company, Manchester Solutions (MS), and HDCC entered into an Memorandum of understanding, to work together to promote long-term economic re-development in the Hambantota District, supporting the organisational development and success of HDCC, and developing mutual links between the two Chambers and their members.
It has involved a long-term commitment to sharing expertise and resources rather than just a one-off financial contribution. HDCC and GMCC were winners of the Best Networking Project category at the awards presentation of a competition at the 6th World Chamber Congress (WCC) held in Kuala Lumpur in 2009.
Empowering women through entrepreneurship
HDCC was awarded a grant from the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Initiatives (S/GWI) through USAID to implement its Promoting Entrepreneurship and Empowering Women in Hambantota District project. Through this initiative the Hambantota District Women Entrepreneurs forum was formed and it serves as a networking platform and creates a voice for businesswomen. Its objectives are to facilitate information sharing among different groups of women, encouraging them to take control of their businesses.
Catalytic role
In addition the Chamber is also involved in collaborative partnerships with local bodies too to facilitate the business community. Playing a catalytic role in the development of the business sector, it initiates action to identify future trends, focuses on key issues, and assists in the development of strategic plans to meet new challenges and opportunities. It also maintains close links with the government sector and multilateral aid agencies and provides a platform for the private sector to discuss issues affecting businesses.
HCCC’s role extends to that of an intermediary between the public and private sectors. Placed in an enviable position of pre - eminence in its membership coverage, business acumen and range of services, while being responsive to the needs of business in times of rapid change, it has expanded its scope and expertise to areas.
Disaster relief
The 2004 tsunami drastically affected the Hambantota District. The HDCC was active in all of the relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts. HDCC members and staff worked alongside other organisations in the days following the disaster, helping to meet the needs of their community despite the shock and grief of their own personal losses.
Many international organisations, NGOs, philanthropists, groups, and concerned individuals from around the world funnelled their contributions and programs through HDCC as an effective conduit for relief and support.
The largest program, ‘Back to Business’, used funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy and a consortium of donors organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry to help the business community recover from the disaster. The Asia Foundation and Ceylon Chamber of Commerce also supported these efforts. These efforts and experiences have been captured and reflected upon in the HDCC publication ‘Rhythm of the Sea’.
Information source
HDCC also publishes ‘Dolosdahas Rata’, which was introduced in 1999, and is a unique local news service bringing valuable business information to members of the Chamber as well as news about to the community, economy and culture of the Hambantota District to national readers. Dolosdahasrata is the first regional newspaper of its kind in the Southern Province.
‘Deep South’ is the creative theme of the HDCC’s tourism development initiative which seeks to promote the Hambantota District as a prime tourist destination. The HDCC has undertaken a number of activities to uplift the tourism industry in the District with the active participation and assistance from its partners - Manchester Solutions UK and Mercy Corps USA, as well as the Government, Provincial Councils, entrepreneurs and individuals engaged in the industry.
At the 3rd Travel & Tourism Presidential Awards ceremony, HDCC was announced as the winner of the Local Destination Development - Provincial Tourism project category.
Partners
A key strength of HDCC is its ability to form and develop partnerships. None of the work would have been possible without the network of partners with whom HDCC has established relationships during the course of its existence. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, FCCISL, ICC, NCCSL , BPA , Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO), Youth Business international (YBI) , Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, Manchester Solutions, The Loomba Foundation, International Youth Foundation (IYF), The Asia Foundation, International Alert, The British Council, ILO, UNDP, USAID, GIZ , The World University of Canada (WUSC), The World Bank ,The Royal Norwegian Embassy - NORAD, University of Ruhuna, University of Agder, Hambantota District Secretariat, Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC) and many more have all supported, guided and influenced the work of HDCC.
A significant element of HDCC’s success is the commitment of its board members and other office bearers, Committee members who give their time and energy voluntarily for the development of the organisation.
Membership diversity
The membership of the HDCC is diverse and includes a wide range of business enterprises. HDCC members are grouped into direct or small sized businesses, medium sized businesses, corporate or large businesses headquartered in Colombo but with branches or interests in the District, and associations or groupings of potentially many hundreds of businesses in a particular sectoral and geographical area.
Felicitation
To recognise and encourage enterprises, HDCC holds the Best Entrepreneur Awards ceremony in the Hambantota District. HDCC also supports and facilitates the participation of the District’s businessmen, women and youth at national and international competitions. Exhibitions are another initiative to support the regional entrepreneur community. These events are aimed at facilitating links and partnerships among business people and creating a platform for entrepreneurs in the region.
HDCC from its inception has sought to promote the economic development of the district and in 2001 HDCC organised the first Investment Forum and major Investment Forums to bridge the gap between demand and supply of information on the development process in the district and to create a platform for private-public partnership work to get maximum benefit from the development projects as well as to address other issues such as technical and financial support for businesses.
20 years of progress
Twenty years on, HDCC can proudly look back on a two decade of progress and achievements. HDCC is organising its 20th anniversary ceremony which will be held on 27 January 2014 at the Sri Lanka Singapore Conference Hall in Siribopura, Hambantota. The Chief Guest at this occasion will be the first President from the Hambantota District Mahinda Rajapaksa.
On this occasion the HDCC will felicitate its Past Presidents, Committee members and long standing members of the Chamber in recognition of their contribution towards the development of the Chamber.
Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Executive Director Dr. Saman Kalegama will make a presentation about HDCC in the context of the Chamber movement of Sri Lanka. This prestigious event will involve political leaders along with key representatives from public, private, NGO, INGO, donor agency, embassy sectors and a large number of HDCC members and local business people.
In its 20 years of operation and action HDCC has made significant achievements towards realising its vision for the business community and environment of the Hambantota District. With the involvement and encouragement of its members and partners, HDCC looks to the future with renewed commitment – towards becoming a self-sustainable, increasingly professional organisation that takes up social responsibility and youth and community development, and a pioneer district chamber contributing towards regional growth through economic development that empowers the local business community and brings about prosperity in the future.
