NDB and University of Moratuwa continue to empower young entrepreneurs

National Development Bank PLC (NDB) together with the University of Moratuwa announced the appointment of Dr. Nishantha Nanayakkara as the new ‘NDB Endowed Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship’ in a pledge to continue their partnership for development of entrepreneurship in the country.

The ‘NDB Endowed Professor/Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship’, introduced in 2010, is a pioneering initiative by NDB which is in line with the bank’s continued commitment towards instilling an entrepreneurial culture in the country.

This initiative seeks to empower youth to take on the emerging entrepreneurial opportunities in the country by bridging the gap between academia and industry; thus building a nation of ‘job creators’ instead of ‘job seekers’.  The program also aims to support invaluable research that will inspire technology innovations and will lead to enhanced indigenous knowledge and skills which will in turn breed more entrepreneurs in the country.

The above initiative has paved the way for a new and timely addition to the university curriculum with the introduction of entrepreneurship education into the curriculum. This included a minor in entrepreneurship and the establishment of student companies providing the much needed academic background as well as practical experience.

The first batch which consisted of over 300 first year students floated and launched nine companies offering a diverse range of products and services. Guidance and training was provided by the Young Entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka (YESL), a company by guarantee under the franchise of the US based program. The demand for this minor which has increased by 400% is testament to the success of this initiative.

Commenting on this, the Vice Chancellor and former NDB Endowed Professor in Entrepreneurship Professor Jayawardena stated, “We have seen a surge of interest for this subject with students increasingly opting to follow this minor. This is very encouraging and shows the success of the initiative.

The value of this program is that not only are the students given academic knowledge they are also given a comprehensive practical training on floating and operating a business. We believe that the hands on experience will give these students a taste of the real business world as well as motivate them to either be entrepreneurs or intraprenuers once they graduate.”

Commenting on the partnership with NDB, newly appointed Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship Dr. Nanayakkara stated, “Building an entrepreneurial culture is challenging specially within an academic body where undergraduates assume 100% job security and academic staff is geared only towards teaching. Meaningful collaboration with the private sector for technology innovation and commercialisation is a rare occurrence in Sri Lanka’s higher education system.

“Further, Sri Lankan universities are not well placed to meet the demands of industry and to solve management issues of the private sector. Consequently, albeit the wealth of knowledge that our graduates carry, they do not encompass the necessary ‘intra-preneurial’ skills to enrich the companies at which they work and barely get the opportunity to climb the corporate ladder.

“The entrepreneurship program initiated by NDB is aimed at solving such issues to help nurture innate abilities of our youth to help them become active ingredients of the growth engine of Sri Lanka. This initiative also falls in line with the Government’s vision which seeks to bridge academic and industry gaps by supplementing university education with applied acumen in order to propel the growth of the SME sector.”

Dr. Nishantha Nanayakkara, having served the University of Moratuwa for fifteen years as a senior lecturer resigned in 2009, and re-joined the University this year to assume the post of NDB Endowed Senior Fellow in Entrepreneurship. A dynamic entrepreneur himself, Dr. Nanayakkara holds ample entrepreneurial expertise and understanding; most of which has been gathered through his own experience.

Within a year into his studies as a self-sponsored postgraduate student at the Saga University in Japan, he initiated research projects for a leading Japanese electrical company seeking innovative solutions for technical issues. As such, he soon became a recognised researcher and presented his findings in the areas of renewable energy generation and reliability analysis of submarine cable laying etc. at significant international conferences. He earned a PhD in 1995 closely followed by the doctoral degree after which he returned to Sri Lanka and joined the University of Moratuwa.

In addition to his academic proficiency Dr. Nanayakkara is an attained techno-entrepreneur with a great deal of involvement in the mini hydro power sector as a technical expert, company CEO/Chairman and an investor. He has introduced innovative, cost effective solutions to Sri Lankan mini hydro power sector through beneficial joint ventures.

Dr. Nanayakkara has rendered his services as a consultant to World Bank, United Nations’ Industrial Development Organisation and government agencies in Africa. So far, 15 micro hydro projects and 13 grid-connected mini hydro projects have been completed under his supervision and part investment. He has also ventured in to the ceramics industry under his own company, Solar Industry. In addition to being the director and shareholder of eight mini hydro power companies in the country, he is also the Founder/Director of CleanCo Lanka (Drive Green) vehicle emission testing program in Sri Lanka

Commenting on the program, Chief Executive Officer of NDB Russell de Mel stated, “NDB strongly believes that an entrepreneurial culture is essential for the sustainable development of the nation. We want to build a country where our youth will create opportunities not just for themselves but for others whilst developing the ‘doing business’ environment of Sri Lanka.

“Establishing the ‘Endowed Professor of Entrepreneurship’ at the University of Moratuwa is part of our lasting, progressive approach towards entrepreneurship development. We hope to further build on this initiative to churn the inherent abilities of our gifted youth to help them rise up to the challenges and take on the opportunities in a rapidly developing Sri Lanka.”

“Sustainability sits at the heart of our business strategy with the purpose of driving values over the longer term. NDB has over the years partnered many success stories of home-grown entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial capabilities of Sri Lankan youth have proven vital in the current development era and NDB remains committed to empowering the development of entrepreneurial capabilities in people while partnering with them for their funding requirements.” de Mel reiterated.