World acclaim for Hambantota woman enterpreneur

by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

It takes years of hard labour, innovation and dedication for an entrepreneur to reach global acclaim. For some they toil their entire life but fail to get even a single product to the South Asian market and for them to capture the European market has been a distant dream.

For young Fathuma Nisreen of Hambantota universal accolade came her way at a time she least expected. "I did not look for world fame but now it has come to my doorstep. This will stimulate my business ahead and help provide a better livelihood for my family," she said.

Her path to success was not a bed of roses. At the age of two her father who was instrumental in keeping the home fires burning passed away plunging the family to an abyss and it was the relatives and the neighbours that helped the family to survive. "During that time the family lived in agony not knowing from where their next meal was coming from," she recalled.

As things were settling down the tsunami stuck once again dashing all hopes they had for a better future. This was followed by another problem when her family objected to accept her childhood friend and her present husband, Ramzi. "Since I knew that my future was with him I had no option than to elope with him and I have no regrets in doing so," she said.

She said that even after her marriage their financial situation did not improve and her husband's business of running a welding shop was not doing well.

"Children were getting sick all the time and they were in and out of the hospital and the doctors said they needed highly nutritious food which we were unable to provide." This prompted her to look for employment and since Ramzi did not like her working for a salary she was looking for an opportunity to start a self employment project.

Soon after the tsunami several Non Governmental Organizations started free vocational training programs and Nisreen decided to try out her sewing capabilities. "The end result was that I started a small sewing shop next to my husband's welding shop and then I also learned to sew bags," she sad.

It was during this time she met a consultant, Amali of the Hambantota Chamber of Commerce who prompted her to obtain credit facilities to purchase new sewing machines.

"When my request was put forward to the Chamber, its CEO, Azmi Thassim has fully supported this proposal and I managed to get new machinery to surge ahead in business," she said.

Nisreen then started designing and manufacturing traditional outfits and bags, and groomed to become a role model for her successes in overcoming the restrictions facing Muslim women and in setting up Ramsi Fashion.

Through her determination she has been able to show that Muslim women too can engage in business activities and contribute to the economy as well as their male counterparts. This achievement is prime evidence of the abundance of talent in the rural areas of our country, which highlights the need to harness these abilities and support talented young people from the regions. It also emphasises the value of the work of regional and district level organizations and the benefit of their direct collaboration with national and international partners.

It was also Amali who persuaded Nisreen to apply for the Sri Lankan competition of the prince's youth business international entrepreneur of the year award. Her entrepreneurship was richly rewarded when Nisreen was crowned as the "Woman of the Year," at the Hambantota Youth Business Program (HYBP), an initiative of the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC).

With this triumph has now made it through to the final round of the Prince's Youth Business International (YBI) Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2010 which will be held in Mexico City on the 23rd September.

"Whilst there, she will be interviewed by an expert panel of judges and joined by the three other finalists, Colin Davison from Canada, Shriram Kaluke from India and Alex Tam and Felix Chung from Hong Kong." The competition, which is supported by Barclays Capital, provides the opportunity for young entrepreneurs all over the world to demonstrate their skills and how they are creating jobs and developing successful new businesses with the support of the members of the YBI Network.

Colin Davison from Canada, Winner, Innovator of the Year Stealth Acoustical and Emission Control would be one of their contestants in the final round in Mexico.

Davison has evolved from a company which specialized in noise and pollution control to a manufacturing business that now employs 60 people. It designs and fabricates systems for equipment such as power generators and gas compressors, keeping noise within legal limits for the oil and gas, power generation and other industrial markets.

Indian Winner, Shriram Kaluke, overcame redundancy and losing his savings to form Shri Ganesh Enterprises, providing cleaning services for water tanks in residential and commercial complexes.

The business uses a high water pressure machine, chemicals and an ultraviolet radiator to make the water tank clean and bacteria free.

Alex Tam and Felix Chung from Hong Kong the fourth contestant won the country's top award for recycling everything from newspapers to discarded bronze taps. In addition, they have grown to sell environmentally friendly products.

Meanwhile Azmi Thassim, Director General of Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce and Founder Trustee -Youth Business Sri Lanka said that she has transformed her business idea into a tangible, successful enterprise and this has made her an example and role model in the area.

"We are proud of Fathuma's achievement; a woman with severe difficulties became the woman entrepreneur of the Year." "She is a role model for her successes in overcoming the restrictions facing Muslim women and setting up her business and has been able to show that Muslim women too can engage in business activities and contribute to the economy as well as their family.

Fathuma has been able to improve her status in society through her hard work and determination, and is an innovative woman with plenty of confidence.

Her husband was not able to earn enough in his job as a welder to support their growing family." "The mentoring is the unique feature of the Youth Business program and in this instance it has worked as a great example to all and it is very special that the mentor is also a woman who came forward as a result of this concept." "I am confident that this achievement is good evidence of the abundance of talent in the rural areas of our country and also highlights the need for harnessing this talent and supporting talented young people from the regions," he said.

"This also emphasises the value of the work of regional and district level organizations and the benefit of their direct collaboration with national and international partners."