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Renuka Coconut Milk Powder wins Mawbima Lanka accreditation

Renuka Coconut Milk Powder recently gained accreditation by the Mawbima Lanka Padanama thus setting its own benchmark as a truly Sri Lankan brand worthy of national patronage and one that helps boost the Sri Lankan economy.

Renuka Coconut Milk Powder is the only Sri Lankan coconut milk powder free of artificial preservatives and colouring thereby promoting healthy living among consumers. The portfolio includes coconut milk powder in 300gm and 150gm packs, canned liquid coconut milk in 400ml tins, desiccated coconut in 150gm packs and a low fat liquid coconut milk for today’s health conscious consumer.

Director Marketing, Renuka Group Shamindra Rajiyah said, “Studies have revealed that 60 per cent of the coconut kernel is wasted by the traditional method of scraping and extracting coconut milk. It is also a tedious task.

A developing country such as ours cannot afford such wastage. Our state-of-the-art technology uses every bit of the kernel, thus eliminating wastage and as a result contributes to a national cause, while also offering consumers the sheer convenience of coconut milk in an instant, both in powder or liquid form”.

The Mawbima Lanka Padanama, is a non-profit earning people’s voluntary organisation which endorses and promotes locally manufactured products among Sri Lankan consumers. It encourages boosting of sales of local brands as opposed to imported items, which will, in turn, help to improve the economy of the country and thereby raised the standards of living of the general masses of the country. ‘Ganna Ape De’ and ‘Surya Singha’ Logos are the symbols of local brands of a formidable national economy.

They are offered to all accredited organisations and brands in order to differentiate their brands from the imported and multinational brands.

Renuka Agrifoods Ltd. is a Board of Investment (BoI) approved venture and a subsidiary of the Renuka Group Ltd.

Renuka is the only coconut product manufacturer with its own coconut plantations, thus ensuring that the freshest of raw material is used at all times.

“All our products are manufactured to the highest of international standards using modern technology and the most rigorous of hygienic conditions. They are constantly checked by our qualified Quality Control and Quality Assurance teams”, Rajiyah said.

The Renuka Group is the largest exporter of Coconut Milk products from Sri Lanka and available in over 52 countries. Renuka was the first coconut factory to receive ISO 22000, the very first time such a certificate has been issued by RvA (the Dutch Accreditation Council) through the SLSI. All Renuka plantations, out-grower farms, primary processing centers and the state-of-the-art production facilities have received HACCP, ISO 22000 and BRC (British Retail Consortium) Certifications in addition to Halal.

New life for Atta flour

‘Affordable nourishment to the nation’:

Serendib Flour Mills (Pvt) Ltd, a member of the Al Ghurair Group of Companies, Dubai, UAE has made the local Atta Flour more affordable to the Sri Lankan public in the wholesale market.

CEO/Director of Serendib Flour Mills (Pvt) Ltd Sathak Abdul Kadar said, “Although Atta flour is a nutritious and healthy product with very high fibre, mineral and vitamin content, its high price has continuously barred it from reaching average Sri Lankan homes. We are now continuing ‘Nourishing the Nation’ with our brand - Seven Star Atta Flour”.

“Seven Star” Atta Flour is very high in nutrition and yet the most economically priced flour in the wholesale market. Its high bran content makes it a fibre-rich food which can easily be digested by both young and old. Seven Star Atta Flour’s composition enables one to make a variety of products such as Rotti, Naan, Chapathi, Parata, Poori and Pittu”, Kadar said.

Studies have indicated that Atta Flour was predominantly consumed in the Central, North Central and Northern areas of Sri Lanka.

However, with the number of health conscious urban Sri Lankans rapidly on the increase, the demand for Atta Flour in Colombo, its suburbs and the Southern areas is equally on the increase. Hence the Serendib Flour Mills’ decision to market its Seven Star Atta Flour islandwide in the wholesale market.

Chief Marketing Officer of the Company Suren R. A. Abeywickrema said ‘Seven Star’ brand of flours address different market groups. “Our All-Purpose Flour targets the thousands of bakers in this country while Household Flour and Atta Flour are essentially for households.

The Seven Star Brand represents seven cardinal values. Each star represents an intrinsic value - Purity, Innovation, Quality, Freshness, Expertise, Service and Trust”, he said.

“We have been providing different ‘solutions’ to the requirements posed by the industry - both bakery owners and the public. Atta flour is another addition. Our commitment to provide a far superior and fresher product delivered direct to distributors underscores our role as a responsible corporate citizen having the end user’s interest at heart”, Kadar said.

Kent Ridge call centre training for Union Assurance

A training workshop was successfully concluded recently at the Union Assurance Training Centre.

Experience sharing ,group activities and presentations were used to impart the knowledge and skills. The panel discussion with industry experts was a unique feature at the program. “It refreshed my knowledge and added lot of value to deliver excellent customer service in future,” said a participant. The company and all participants rated the work shop very high.

“Program Manager of Kent Ridge Certificate in Customer Service Program, Jagath Peiris facilitated the program.

NDB Bank shows children to save right

Every parent aspires to give their children the best in life - be it their education, values and morals or a plan for their future, to ensure their children are geared to succeed in life.

Understanding this need, NDB Bank recently re-launched the Children’s Savings Account offering many gifts in addition to the rewards offered before as a means of encouraging children to save more.

NDB Bank firmly believes that the importance of saving should be instilled into children from the very beginning which makes the Children’s Saving Account the ideal savings plan for children who are below 18 years of age.

The NDB Bank’s Children’s Savings Account requires a minimal deposit of Rs. 1000 for which the account holder will receive attractive gifts as the account balance increases.

With gifts ranging from Mountain bicycles to MP3 and DVD players children will be justly rewarded for the savings they accumulate in their accounts.

NDB Bank’s Children’s Savings Account also offers an attractive interest rate currently up to 10.5 per cent per annum, a free life insurance and permanent disability cover for the parent or guardian, free hospitalisation cover for the child and free standing order payments from the parents’ account to the child’s account.

The Life Insurance and Permanent Total Disability cover will consist of a cover of Rs. 50,000 for the parent or guardian of any minor whose account contains a minimum balance of Rs. 20,000.

Furthermore if an account holder’s balance exceeds Rs. 50,000 the benefits will increase to Rs. 100,000.

Graduate Enterprise Challenge 09

Technology driven globalization is creating unprecedented opportunities for anyone from anywhere to create business in a way which was unimaginable several years ago.

Sri Lanka is clearly entering an idea economy. The potential to create significant wealth through business will only be limited by one’s imagination.

Graduate Enterprise Challenge (GEC), a business plan competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students in Sri Lanka. It is organised by the British Council and Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM). GEC is a follow-up project to the National Entrepreneurship Week Sri Lanka 2008 (NEW 08) conducted in November 2008.

The British Council has pioneered ‘Graduate Entrepreneurship’ development in Sri Lanka under the auspices of the Ministry of Higher Education and the University Grants Commission. The Graduate Enterprise Challenge is the latest of a series of activities organised by the British Council funded by the UK Prime Minister’s Initiative (PMI2) for the development of international education partnerships.

The joint venture between British Council and SLASSCOM aims to promote technology entrepreneurship and encourage business networks between graduate enterprises in Sri Lanka and the UK.

SLASSCOM Entrepre-neurship and Innovation forum is set with the aim to drive technology entrepre-neurship in Sri Lanka. SLASSCOM acts as the catalyst of growth for the Sri Lankan IT and BPO industry by facilitating trade and business propagation of education and employment, encouragement of research and innovation, and by supporting the creation of a progressive national policy framework.

The objective of the initiative is to create awareness about graduate entrepreneurship amongst university students and staff, identify potential graduate entrepreneurs and provide training about business planning and enterprise start-up.

There are three stages to the challenge. The first stage is the ‘business idea competition’.

To enter the challenge a summary of a business idea must be sent to the GEC organising committee by e-mail to [email protected] on or before March 20. The ten best ideas will be selected based on innovation and preliminary feasibility. In the second stage a one week ‘residential workshop’ on business planning and enterprise start-up will be provided to the selected candidates of the Graduate Enterprise Challenge. It will be conducted by trainers from the UK and will be held at Uva Wellassa University from March 28 to April 1,.

The final stage is the ‘business plan competition’ where the candidates will prepare their business plans and present them to a panel of potential investors. The best plans will be selected and presented to potential investors.

Bonus for NRFC account holders

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The banks will pay the first bonus instalment to their NRFC account holders as agreed by the Government last month.

Manager, NRFC, People’s Bank M.D.C. Manatunga said that the bank has sent letters to individuals informing them to open rupee savings accounts to transfer the money.

He said that the bank received a large number of inquiries from customers following the announcement of bonus payment for the money deposited in NRFC accounts during February. The bank is expecting a considerable amount of remittances in the coming month. April is the month that the bank gets huge remittances from overseas.

Manatunga said that some people have misunderstood the advertisement published by the Central Bank. The bonus payment is twenty per cent of the interest due for the balance in the NRFC account.

But some people have thought that twenty per cent is for the total amount deposited in the NRFC account.

He said that it is difficult to give statistics on the bonus payment yet as it is too early. The People’s Bank Overseas Customer Service accepts thirteen kinds of currencies at present and the interest rates depend on the kind of currency.