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| Sunday, 2 May 2004 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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E-business extended to rural areas The National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka has long recognised that the information needs of its SME members are not restricted to just those in Colombo, and now with the introduction of technology has broadened the access to dynamic information and content. Joining hands with the Information and Computer Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) through the ICTA's pilot project programmes, NCCSL has established Information Centres throughout the island. These Information Centres have e-mail and connectivity to the NCCSL Centre in Colombo, through which queries raised by SME members could be facilitated on an individual one-on-one basis. Importantly, these centres also have Internet facilities and SME members can browse the Internet to find information, buyers and markets for their products. A further benefit under ICTA's and NCCSL's project is to develop websites for up to each of the approx. 800 district SME member companies, where the profiles along with visuals of the company and their products/services could be displayed. In addition, each NCCSL district office will have a 'Member's Website' where non-NCCSL members can view the member company profiles. The business information portal www.sme.nccsl.lk http://www.sme.nccsl.lk/http://www.sme.nccsl.lk will connect the entrepreneurs of the region to the global business information super highway. This web portal eventually will be equipped with a payment gateway, which will be implemented with the assistance of Lanka Com Services, to promote and assist online business to SME members. Mr. Shashank Ojha, a member of World Bank's Informatics Advisory Service for the South Asian Region, together with Mr. Dinesh Amarasekera, Senior Project Manager of ICTA, visited the newly established Information Centre at Matara last month. The NCCSL demonstrated the solution and discussed how it is currently being utilised and benefiting the regional SME membership of NCCSL. Mr. Amarasekera stated, 'The SME sector is the engine of rural economic growth. We believe that this portal is an innovative enabler that helps showcase SME's wares to a global audience providing an electronic means of correspondence to extend and expand opportunities. They also discussed the plans for the regional chamber in promoting and expanding its membership, during the visit. The NCCSL feels that this facility will prove to be of great benefit to all the SMEs in the region. |
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