Private sector development program training course:

‘Today’s market situation a bloody red ocean’

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

In today’s market situation, business people immerse themselves in overcrowded industries and saturated business opportunities, a ‘bloody red ocean’ of rivals fighting over a shrinking profit pool, said Colombo Plan Secretariat, Secretary General, Patricia Yoon-Moi Chia at the inauguration of the Private Sector Development Program Training Course organized by the Colombo Plan Secretariat (CPS) at Hotel Hilton on Monday.

She said that entrepreneurship is not about making fast money and wealth creation alone. It is the development of that can-do entrepreneurial spirit. Hence it is a distinct way of doing things and having the courage, passion and innovation to put a dream into action.

Since the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the developing countries are adversely impacted by the current economic crisis market space will shrink and SMEs face even stiffer competition. Hence, strategic thinking is needed to look for new opportunities in the market, and it requires entrepreneurs to think outside the box, she said.

Having the training program on ‘Executing the Blue Ocean Strategy’ (BOS) will provide innovative ideas to entrepreneurs making competition irrelevant and creating a new uncontested market. Although this concept is new to some people its thinking is not. Many of the businesses that exist today are previously unknown and have created their own blue ocean, she said.

This program has enabled the CPS to showcase Sri Lanka’s success stories and it will also provide an excellent opportunity for participants to establish a useful network across the Asia Pacific region.

Prominent speakers from the private companies of Sri Lanka have been invited to provide insights into their successes in the various fields at this six day (19-24) program where members from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka participate.

The Colombo Plan established in 1951 to enhance social and economic development of the countries of the region has expanded to 26 member countries today including non-commonwealth countries and countries belonging to regional groupings such as (ASEAN) the Association of South East Asian Nations.