Women a major force in earning foreign exchange revenue - WCIC President

Over 73 per cent of Sri Lanka's foreign exchange revenue is from women, the President elected of the Women's Chambers of Industry and Commerce (WCIC), Rezani Aziz said, at their Annual General Meeting recently.

She said that migrant workers, tea industry, agriculture and the garment sector are the key areas where women are at work.

"No one can dispute any longer the economic power of women and the impact of women owned enterprises - overlooked because individually many women owned enterprises are small, however, collectively their total impact on the economy is significant. It is said that women hold 50 per cent of the sky. If so, without the economic power of women, no country can achieve total economic stability", she said.

WCIC was initiated 20 years ago by a group of visionaries - women who were successfully running their own businesses and a few professionals; the main objective being to incorporate women entrepreneurs into the mainstream of business activity in the country and now we have a membership of 140. Founder Chairperson was Chloe de Soysa.

20 years down the line saw many projects initiated and run by WCIC such as the Agromart Foundation, training course for women migrant workers, poverty alleviation through entrepreneurship development and most recently the SAARC Chamber Women Entrepreneur Council (SWEC) which incorporates leading women's organizations from the SAARC countries.

"We have just begun the Women Back to Business Livelihood Recovery Project for women breadwinners of the family affected by the tsunami. Projects move to different phases, when it has to find a life of its own, as with the Agromart Foundation which has grown into a brand of its own and the Migrants Training Course which is now being carried out by the SL Bureau of Foreign Employment.

"We at the WCIC take pride in being in an organization that parented such projects to accelerate women entrepreneurship in our country and therefore, find it fitting that the Founder Members - those that had the vision and saw the need for such and organization be recognised and felicitated.

20 years later saw WCIC represented in organisations such as Federation of Chambers of Commerce Sri Lanka (FCCISL), SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and NCE, Ministry of Women's Affairs, Ministry of Labour Relations and Foreign Employment, Ministry of Industries, Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Customs, Employer's Federation of Ceylon, Society for Corporate Social Responsibility, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Project SMED, Sri Lanka Business Development Centre (SLBDC), Sri Lanka National Arbitration Centre.

President, Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCISL) Nawaz Rajabdeen said that the WCIC should not be confined only to Colombo and should go to the rural areas as well.

He said that women are an emerging economic force that cannot be ignored. "Small and medium-sized enterprises provide the bulk of employment for economies like ours. Capital-generating businesses provide a satisfactory living for their owners and are even creating new jobs in their communities throughout the country. Contributing significantly to national economic growth through generation of new enterprises are women-owned businesses", he said.

The challenges women in business face are a matter of intense debate today. These challenges are consistent worldwide. The impact on women business owners may differ according to location, culture, ethnic background, economic policies, and other such influential factors, but the challenges remain essentially the same. The role women's business organisations such as the Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce have in overcoming these obstacles has not been fully developed. Originally, many businesswomen's organisations were started as casual networking and support groups. Often women just wanted an opportunity to meet like-minded women, make new business contacts, and exchange business experiences.

The Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce, is facing several challenges that need immediate and serious attention. It is important that you professionalise your services, affairs and relationships with external organisations. It is also important to be consistent in whatever the services you offer to the membership and to the women business community at large.

(SS)