FCCISL Trinco Forum a success

The Investor Forum held in conjunction with the Trincomalee Trade Fair organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Trincomalee District (CCITD) on a United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) initiative, in collaboration with FCCISL held at the Hindu Cultural Hall, Trincomalee on October 29 and 30 was a resounding success.

The Forum was organized with the focus on SMEs development and objective wise, the Forum's attention was directed towards investment opportunities. The area to create a platform for importers, exporters, service providers, buyers, sellers, those looking for investment opportunities, investment promotion agencies, exporters who wish to find products for export, local suppliers of finished products and raw materials and logistics providers to meet at one venue.

A program was formulated to provide SMEs in Trincomalee with a basic knowledge on important business topics in order to enhance and further develop their business capacity. The topics discussed ranged from labour concerns in business investment opportunities in Trincomalee, networking opportunities for market oriented agro enterprises through FCCISL to banking services for SMEs and trade facilitation for business development by FCCISL and Chambers.

The resource persons involved were Department of Inland Revenue Senior Assessor Bandula Haputhantrie, District Labour Commissioner Chamitha Hemantha Gamage, Agriculture Department Deputy Director S Uhanathan and OxfamGB Trincomalee Program Coordinator Urmila Senthilkumaran.

The sessions focused on banking services available to SMEs, was very interactive where participants were keen on knowing the banking facilities that are on offer for them. (loan facilities and pay back facilities)

The presentations done all the resource persons created enthusiasm amongst the participants and the sessions were very interactive. The conclusion of each presentation was followed by a Q/A session where participants responded in a very positive manner.

Another highlight of the Forum was the participation of a eight member business delegation from Colombo, whose visit was facilitated by FCCISL.

The delegates were afforded the opportunity to meet with their counterparts from Trincomalee, the outcome of which was very satisfactory.

CCITD followed-up on the outcome of these meetings and have obtained excellent feedback from the Colombo businessmen and the participants from Trincomalee.