Fifth Women Entrepreneur awards ceremony on July 29

The fifth Women Entrepreneur awards ceremony will be held on July 29 at the Galadari Hotel. The chief guest on the occasion will be the Australian High Commissioner Cathy Kluggman.

Organised by the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) 20 awards will be given, said Chairperson WCIC Ramya Weerakoon.

She said that awards will be given for businesses in micro, small, medium and large categories while there will be four special awards too. The four special awards are women entrepreneur, the innovative business, the professional women and a special awards for the SAARC Women entrepreneur.

To apply under the micro category the annual turnover of the business should be one million rupees while the small category will be Rs. 1-12 mln, medium Rs. 12 -25 mln and large category Rs. 25 mln and above. In addition the applicants should have three years of business experience.

A five-member panel of judges will select the winners and the WCIC will hold an evaluation seminar for women who do not qualify for the awards so that they can win an award in the future.

The awards ceremony, the flagship project of WCIC felicitates the achievements and contributions made by outstanding women entrepreneurs. The event was started in 1998 with the intention of providing national recognition for women entrepreneurs’ contribution made towards the community as well as the local economy.

The main sponsor of this year’s event is Seylan Regina while the co-sponsor is the Bank of Ceylon. The media sponsors are Lake House and Sirasa. The WCIC was inaugurated in 1985, a non profit organisation of professional women in business and management has emerged as a pre-eminent organisation in Sri Lanka for advancing the interests and views of business women.

WCIC has also become a powerful voice for improving the business environment for women entrepreneurs.

An organisation of professional women in business and management it was initiated to promote the special interests of women entrepreneurs with the objective of incorporating them into the mainstream of business activity in the country.

The WCIC is also the first women-only Trade Chamber to be set up in Sri Lanka as well as being the first in the world, with a current membership of 130.