SPARK 2023 inspires entrepreneurship in SL youth

By Divya Thotawatte

The grand finale of SPARK 2023, a national competition celebrating young entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, was held on 21 August where industry experts highlighted the necessity of cultivating innovation and enterprising skills among the youth of the country.

The finale coincided with World Entrepreneurship Day and was aimed at empowering Sri Lankan entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 24 in and outside of school as they ventured into the private sector. The top five out of 400 applicants were given the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges made of industry experts. Mihindi Minupama Bandara from the school category was the winner of the competition.

The panel of judges included Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister Deepa Liyanage, ThreadWorks Chairman and CEO Gehan De Soysa, Hemas Holdings Executive Directors and Group CEO Kasturi Chellaraja Wilson, University of Kelaniya Faculty of Science Dean Sudath Kalingamudali, Remedium One Director and CEO Samantha Ranatunga, University of Kelaniya Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies Dean WMCB Wanninayake, and Dialog Axiata Sustainability Execution Specialist Rakshieka Nedumaran.

SPARK Youth Entrepreneurship Competition 2023 is an initiative by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) South Asia Leadership in Entrepreneurship (SALE) program organised in partnership with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking at the event, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Chairman Duminda Hulangamuwa stressed the necessity of a sustainable business climate in Sri Lanka which could only be created by supporting and developing the entrepreneurship skills of its youth.

“We have to look at alternative methods of education that include subjects that develop skills and encourage innovation,” he said, underlining the ineffectiveness of the “straightjacket” school education of Sri Lanka. He explained that a modern education system should provide opportunities for free-thinking and skills development that not only supports, but also keeps pace with the creative and innovative ideas of students.

“The economies of countries like Japan, South Korea and the United States have been built on the entrepreneurial skills of their people. Companies like Sony, Nissan, Facebook or Microsoft were not established companies when they started out. They were new ventures built by people who thought differently and they made enormous contributions to the world economy and their own countries’ as well. They did not rely on their governments to do things for them.”

Hulangamuwa explained that it is vital that the Sri Lankan youth do the same instead of relying on the Government. Self-reliance and independence is necessary where individuals should utilise their time productively to engage in innovative thinking and develop entrepreneurial skills to grow in their desired fields, he advised the attendees.

ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and Maldives Chief Technical Advisor Thomas Kring explained that to create a thriving private sector, it was essential to first provide an enabling environment for entrepreneurs with access to resources and space to grow.

Kring noted, “There is a critical need to enable Sri Lankan youth to develop their entrepreneurial skills for not only their own aspirations but also to support the country’s economic growth during these difficult times. Instead of seeking employment overseas, we need to create opportunities at home.” The SPARK program is therefore to encourage and provide support for young entrepreneurs to explore their ideas, learn about entrepreneurship and to connect with like-minded young individuals while contributing to Sri Lanka’s economic development.

TYNA Consulting Founder and SPARK 2023 Co-Curator Nirmal De Silva also stated that the SPARK 2023 competition was committed to inspire the youth of the country to have an aspirational mentality as opposed to an entitled mentality. The competition also was to develop out-of-the-box thinking and a sense of responsibility in the participants, he said.

He added that the competition had therefore been conducted with responsibility. “Students from all around Sri Lanka, irrespective of their ethnicity, school, where they are located, have an equal opportunity to showcase their talents. It is also a responsibility to ensure that this is not merely a one-off program, but something we could build on to the future and create a regional learning hub through what we’re building with SPARK today.”

De Silva also emphasised the influence of the education system of the country. He said that selecting the best student of the class for the competition was insufficient and providing opportunity to more students was needed with a broader purpose of increasing the number of entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka from 2% to at least 10% within the coming few years.

Ministry of Education (MoE) Secretary K.N. Ranasinghe stated that the Government has recognised the importance of developing entrepreneurial skills in students where the MoE was now working on introducing a curriculum with entrepreneurship education for schools.

He said, “We are already developing an entrepreneurship curriculum from grade 6 to 12 under the proposed educational reforms. We expect to introduce these new subjects to the schools from the year 2025 onwards. We have recognised the importance of creating an entrepreneurial culture in our schools, universities and vocational training centres so our youth can explore their ideas even while getting their education.”

Giving the keynote speech, Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority Former Chairman and Attorney-at-law Kirmali Fernando discussed how in addition to skills, resilience is also a necessary quality that should be developed in entrepreneurs in the face of challenges as seen in today’s competitive and volatile global economic environment.

Pix by Shehan Gunasekera