Creating, developing entreprenurs essential

For long term sustainable development:

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

Creating and developing entrepreneurs is essential for a long term sustainable development in a country. An “entrepreneur mentor” can do a lot of things to achieve this goal. Although the term entrepreneur mentor is new to Sri Lanka, few people are very focused in this area. Ananda Rajapakse is one such entrepreneur mentor and a rare person who has discovered the potential of local entrepreneurs and initiated action not only to take them to global arena but also to groom the next generation to take over the baton.

He was interviewed by Daily News Business .

Here are some excerpts from the interview.

Who is an entrepreneur mentor?

A mentor is someone who serves as an adviser, a sounding board and ultimately a friend. A mentor will be really effective if only they truly care for you, and vice versa. Truly effective mentors do what they do for one reason: That is because they want to help people succeed.. They work with them because they are interested in helping people. An entrepreneur mentor help creating business, developing them and sustaining them successfully.

Why did you want to become an entrepreneur mentor?

Today we need lot of entrepreneurs to develop the country economically and we have lot of people with potential to become entrepreneurs.But sometimes they do not realize it and select other careers in multinational companies killing their talents. I wanted to create awareness among such people and create opportunities for existing entrepreneurs to go global while grooming their children to become entrepreneurs as the next generation. Most of our well known entrepreneurs are not known even in India sufficiently although they are very talented.

I wanted our entrepreneurs to connect to the region first of all. I have also advocated many people to become their own masters in this process. Because the challenge today is grow our economy faster otherwise we are going to be dictated.

What are your initiatives so far towards this effort ?

I initiated the APEA 2012 in Sri Lanka recently which is the regional award, spurring innovation and growth in entrepreneurship through ‘Enterprise Asia.’ which is a NGO for entrepreneurship. This provided a platform for companies and the government to recognize entrepreneurial excellence.

APEA 2012 was a very successful event where 23 entrepreneurs were recognized at a grand award ceremony at Colombo Hilton.. The success stories of the winners, who had a clear vision, persistence and hard work utilized to build their companies to what they are today were published in the Enterprise Asia magazine. They will serve as role models inspiring the generations to come which is very important to the country.

What is the mechanism you have in grooming the next level generation and what have you achieved?

Our entrepreneurs are very busy with their schedules and they are managing time with greatest difficulties when it comes to their family andpersonal matters. This is where I come in. Through the relationships I have built with my longstanding experience in the private sector locally and internationally, I speak to them find out their requirements for their young children and exposing the opportunities available globally for them. This gives them a great relief.

Creating, developing entreprenurs essential

For long term sustainable development:

Ramani KANGARAARACHCHI

Creating and developing entrepreneurs is essential for a long term sustainable development in a country. An “entrepreneur mentor” can do a lot of things to achieve this goal. Although the term entrepreneur mentor is new to Sri Lanka, few people are very focused in this area. Ananda Rajapakse is one such entrepreneur mentor and a rare person who has discovered the potential of local entrepreneurs and initiated action not only to take them to global arena but also to groom the next generation to take over the baton.

He was interviewed by Daily News Business .

Here are some excerpts from the interview.

Who is an entrepreneur mentor?

A mentor is someone who serves as an adviser, a sounding board and ultimately a friend. A mentor will be really effective if only they truly care for you, and vice versa. Truly effective mentors do what they do for one reason: That is because they want to help people succeed.. They work with them because they are interested in helping people. An entrepreneur mentor help creating business, developing them and sustaining them successfully.

Why did you want to become an entrepreneur mentor?

Today we need lot of entrepreneurs to develop the country economically and we have lot of people with potential to become entrepreneurs.But sometimes they do not realize it and select other careers in multinational companies killing their talents. I wanted to create awareness among such people and create opportunities for existing entrepreneurs to go global while grooming their children to become entrepreneurs as the next generation. Most of our well known entrepreneurs are not known even in India sufficiently although they are very talented.

I wanted our entrepreneurs to connect to the region first of all. I have also advocated many people to become their own masters in this process. Because the challenge today is grow our economy faster otherwise we are going to be dictated.

What are your initiatives so far towards this effort ?

I initiated the APEA 2012 in Sri Lanka recently which is the regional award, spurring innovation and growth in entrepreneurship through ‘Enterprise Asia.’ which is a NGO for entrepreneurship. This provided a platform for companies and the government to recognize entrepreneurial excellence.

APEA 2012 was a very successful event where 23 entrepreneurs were recognized at a grand award ceremony at Colombo Hilton.. The success stories of the winners, who had a clear vision, persistence and hard work utilized to build their companies to what they are today were published in the Enterprise Asia magazine. They will serve as role models inspiring the generations to come which is very important to the country.

What is the mechanism you have in grooming the next level generation and what have you achieved?

Our entrepreneurs are very busy with their schedules and they are managing time with greatest difficulties when it comes to their family andpersonal matters. This is where I come in. Through the relationships I have built with my longstanding experience in the private sector locally and internationally, I speak to them find out their requirements for their young children and exposing the opportunities available globally for them. This gives them a great relief.

I take such teenagers to recognized universities in USA such as Harvard and Stanford for a period of one week with a leadership programme where they receive an amazing experience. Since the year 2000, 550 Sri Lankan students have participated in this programme changing their lives towards a better future. Four hundred and seventy out of 550 students have entered universities in the UK, Australia and USA such as Yale, Harvard, Washington and Warwick . This year also Sri Lanka will send 30 student leaders for the ‘Leadership in Action Summit’ programme at Harvard University USA . This programme will be conducted by 'People to People' leadership programmers of the Dwight Eisenhower Foundation founded in 1956 by the former US President Dwight Eisenhower. Students from outside the USA represent 38 percent of the summit .

This is once in a lifetime opportunity for the next generation of corporate, social and political leaders between the ages from 16 to 19 years. This programme brings 300 bright student leaders from 30 countries together to explore the challenge. Once these children are groomed in this manner it is very easy for their parents to get their contribution to the family business or to create new businesses and finally the country as a whole will be benefited.