NCCSL supports SMEs in NE

by Charmaine FERNANDO

“In Sri Lanka, SMEs contribute around 90 percent towards GDP. We are committed towards supporting small and medium enterprises through financial grants for their sustenance and expansion” said Lal De Alwis, President of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) at a ceremony held at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo to disburse funds to SME entrepreneurs last Week.

“Today we are disbursing funds to 60 people out of the total 620 numbers of which about 99.9 percent are small-time entrepreneurs who contribute their might towards employment generation in the rural areas besides their contribution towards Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product” he said “Therefore it is crucial to support them at a time when the heat of the global recession is felt. At a time when banks are reluctant to extend financial backup in the form of loans or leases to the marginalised rural entrepreneurs, even at escalating rates of interest beyond their means it is noteworthy that the NCCSL makes attempts to be of support through grant disbursement under the generous sponsorship of The Royal Netherlands government.

They have made available a grant in excess of Rs. 200 million towards accessing machinery for SME industrialists. Each industrialist was granted approximately Rs. 200,000 in a cheque in favour of the machinery supplier. The grants by the Royal Netherlands are made every 3 years and it was reported that Rs. 100 million has already been disbursed.

In terms of business investment this may seem a paltry sum, but success stories of SME’s who have expanded their work force, activity and profits due to such grants from NCCSL, are heart warming.

Some have grown from 4 employees to 30 and branched out into innovative product manufacturing utilising the grant monies. Women are increasingly taking centre stage in rural SME segment and it has been observed that empowering women is crucial to the sustenance of the rural economy.

NCCSL, in addition to financial support, provides training locally and overseas to entrepreneurs besides enrolling them as members of the NCCSL to enable exposure to the business world and access added benefit of making connections that drive their industry further.

99.3 percent of Japan’s GDP is derived from SMEs and the giants such as Toyota and other big-time industrialists compose only 0.7 percent of GDP contribution.

Of all the recipients many were from remote rural areas such as Bibile, Anuradhapura, Ampara, Hali Ela, Badulla, Ruwanwella, Bandarawela, Kathankudy, Mahiyangana, Kiula and Attampitiya to mention a few.

“We look forward to take our grants to rehabilitate a new breed of industrialists in the North and the East when the opportunity is created soon” De Alwis concluded.