Selyn Exporters wins best Woman Entrepreneur award

Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Following are the awards:

Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2011

Sandra Beverly Wanduragala
Selyn Exporters ( Pvt) Ltd
Selyn Handicrafts (Pvt) Ltd

Large Category
Gold Award- Sandra Beverly Wanduragala
Selyn Exporters ( Pvt) Ltd
Selyn Handicrafts (Pvt) Ltd

Silver Award-
A. M. Chandhani Dilrukshi Bandara
4 Ever Skin Naturals (Pvt) Ltd

Bronze Award
Izzathul Shanasz Hakeem
Zai Tun Industrial Projects (Pvt) Ltd

Medium Category
Gold Award-
W. M. Yaso Menike Wijeyawardena
Building Maintenance and Environment Services (Pvt) Ltd
Silver Award -
G.K.K.C. Dilrukshi Priyangika Dharmasena
Hirushi Garment Industries
Bronze Award -
Fathima Shaffnah Razak
Bobby Industries (Pvt) Ltd
Small Category
Gold Award-
Subathra Ramamoorthy
Sindhu Garments
Silver Award -
G.W.Shyamalee Deepthika
Sarubima Hotel Lake Front
Bronze Award -
Dr.S.Champa J. Nelson
Apeksha Fertility Care (Pvt) Ltd
Merit Award -
Manel Priyadarshini Gamage
Manel Gamage Academy of Arts & Crafts
Merit Award -
Sonali M. R. (Fernando) Dharmawardena
Simply Batik

Micro Category
Gold Award-. W. K. Subadra Samansiri
Tharindu Products
Silver Award -
M. D.Gnanawathi Zoysa
Dilruk Nipayum
Bronze Award-
Mannar Women Development Federation
Mannar
Merit Award -
Sumana Dissanayake
Saumya Training Centre

Sandra Beverly Wanduragala of Selyn Exporters ( Pvt) Ltd and Selyn Handicrafts (Pvt) Ltd won Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2011 at the Women's Entrepreneur of the year awards 2011 ceremony last night at Cinnamon grand Hotel. She also won the Gold award in the large category.

"Entrepreneurship is a big word. But it comes from little things; small steps that together realize dreams and enrich lives," said President of the Women's Chamber of Commerce, Vindyani Hettigoda.

She said that it was her most fervent desire to see that more women in Sri Lanka would awaken and rise to the challenge of empowering themselves.

"Today we celebrate a year of engagement, enterprise and achievement, not just of this organization but all women, all womanhood, all over this country. We remember and acknowledge all those whose work was footnoted or forgotten, neglected and unrecognized."

Women's economic empowerment has been a defining feature of the last century, yet we still have a long way to go.

"Fifty-one per cent of this country's population is women. There are no limits to the heights we can reach if our women rise up and work. They are strong, courageous and spirited and together we can overcome any challenge that comes our way," she added.

Women are more than a statistic. They are our nation's pride. Our nation's lifeblood. Women are everywhere, contributing to all sectors of the economy, with dedication, commitment and hard work.

Take for example the long-suffering women in the war-torn north and east.

Today, after 30 years of terror and heart-rending loss, they are rising and working towards economic development and empowerment.

You create your world by the way you think. And the way our women think is truly inspiring, gathering all aspects of daily life and ensuring their families are provided for, protected, nurtured and sustained.

It is incredible what a woman can do if she sets her mind to it. When women are economically empowered, they make not only their own dreams but also the dreams of their families come true.

"The Women's Chamber of Industry and Commerce has a long history and a remarkable one too. We have progressed from humble beginnings to a point where our work has yielded tangible benefits for our membership and more importantly women in the spheres we engage in."

"And yet, we are acutely aware that women's industry and commerce predates this organization. Even though their thrift, ethic, investment acumen and resilience have been unrecognized, they have directly and indirectly made an impressive impact throughout history."

As we look back at a year of fruitful and streamlined engagement, we would be in error if we at any point tell ourselves that 'we've done enough'.

At the end of a hard day's work, after travelling distances we didn't imagine we had the strength to travel, it is always prudent to tell ourselves that 'We've really not done much and the long journey is yet to begin'.

"There's always the little something we neglected to do or thought was less important. There will always be better and more efficient and productive ways of doing what we have done."

Country Director, Asian Development Bank, Rita O'Sullivan was the Guest of honour for the event.