BPA to empower SME sector

Hiran H.Senewiratne

The Business for Peace Alliance (BPA) is effectively working in partnership with all regional business chambers covering Northern and Eastern areas to empower micro to medium level business entities, with the dawn of peace and normality in the country.

The "BPA's mandate is to empower the local SME sector with the assistance from local business chambers to fast track the country's economic development from medium to long term perspective," Chairman Suresh de Mel told the Daily News.

He said the SME sector in Sri Lanka is the most important sector, which accounts a considerable portion of the country's GDP. Therefore, the BPA is now working in partnership with all business chambers to empower micro-level business entities to large scale entities in the country.

Most regional chambers are working in partnership with BPA to promote regional and rural development and to attract the Sri Lanka diaspora overseas to invest in the local SME sector in rural areas, de Mel said.

The BPA is constantly in touch with all most all regional chambers in the country and is now working with the Vavuniya Chamber of Commerce to assist the Internally Displaced People (IDP) who fled LTTE held areas, he said.

With the dawn of the peace in the country they are encouraging joint ventures with the SME sector to promote initiatives to prevent repatriation of funds to Colombo or overseas, de Mel said.

He said the normal practice is top down business initiatives to rural areas and the funds and profits not to be retained in rural areas. Currently, 15,000 micro to large scale enterprises are working with the BPA through regional chambers in the country. The BPA's main goal is to promote equitable investments in the regions to retain profits within the area, de Mel said.

The BPA wiill hold a symposium from June 25- 29 at the BMICH in partnership with the SME sector . This is the first ever Confab to bring non-resident and resident Sri Lankans, big business, and other investors - local and foreign, to explore the "regional investment climate" in Sri Lanka.

The focus will be on joint venture opportunities with "Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)"- the backbone of the economy. to discuss conflict and context sensitive investment, reviewing projects, and networking. The event will, followed by three-days of travelling to the regional cluster of choice, he said.

Upon returning to Colombo, a wrap-up conference with an eminent panel of policymakers will provide a forum for Q&As on Security, Land, Labour, Investment, Exports, Tourism, etc. The proceedings will conclude with dinner and a cultural show organized by Sri Lanka Tourism.

They are organising this event in cooperation with the Foreign Ministry, the Peace Secretariat, the BOI, Sri Lanka Tourism, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Tourism, the National Chamber of Exporters, Young Entrepreneurs Sri Lanka, The American Chamber of Commerce, the European Chamber of Commerce, BPA-USA, UK-Sri Lanka Business Council, and BPA's representatives in Australia, Canada and Germany, he said.