Economic Development Ministry launches ‘Matching Grant Scheme
As Sri Lanka embarks on a journey to become the “Wonder of Asia”,
Ministry of Economic Development has introduced a Matching Grant Scheme
under the “Mahinda Chintana Vision for the Future” to support the
tourism related SMEs and strengthen the local economy through
sustainable tourism development.
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Vice-President, Global Alliance and Channels, Infor, Jeff
Abbot |
Accordingly the Ministry of Economic Development has made available a
sum of Rs. 2,000 million with a credit facility from the World Bank as
an out-right grant for the development of tourism and tourism related
Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’S).
Thereby, the Ministry of Economic Development will bear the cost for
either 50% of the project value or a maximum of Rs. 10 million of any
SME project under the tourism industry.
It is the government’s belief that the SME sector would bridge the
gap between large scale corporates and micro level enterprises there by
further contributing towards the objective of strengthening the economy
of the country.
This Matching Grant Scheme will be administered by People’s Bank
under the direction of the Ministry of Economic Development. People’s
Bank as the matching admintrator ban brings forward over 50 years of
experience in dealing with financial services relating to many
ministries in the country and with an extensive branch network of over
725 and owning up to 24 SME sectors testified as the most qualified
financial institution to manage the funding of this grant. Through this
project it is estimated that almost 1500 SMEs belonging to the industry
will receive benefits while 2000 new job opportunities will also be
created. The project will also improve the technical and managerial
skills of almost 5000 persons and it is expected to bring an additional
investment of Rs. 5000 million towards tourism and tourism related
SME’s. As per the recent analytics tourist arrivals for the year 2010
stood at 650,000 while this number increased to 1,005605 in 2012. The
Government of Sri Lanka has arrived at steps to increase tourist
arrivals to 2.5 Million in 2016 and to 4 Million by the year 2020.
Through such figures it is estimated that the country will receive an
income of USD 3 Billion in 2016 and USD 8 Billion in 2020 in terms of
foreign exchange earnings.
However in order to achieve these targets, certain drawbacks
prevailing in the SME sector need to be identified and necessary steps
need to be taken. It is important to create an environment that satisfy
tourist which will result in re-visits and promote Sri Lanka as one of
the best holiday destinations in the world.
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