| Business |
||||||
|
Promoting budding
entrepreneurs The judges
visited all eight stalls and spoke to the 10 finalists on a one-to-one
basis before deciding on the winner of the Young Business Start-up
Award 2002. The awards
ceremony was held at the Galadari Hotel on Saturday, August 10.
It was organised by Shell-Sri Lanka to recognise the achievements
of young people in business and held for the third consecutive year.
Entrepreneurs
who have been in business for a period not less than three months
and not exceeding two years, were eligible to enter the contest.
Following the Shell's LiveWIRE programme was not a mandatory requirement
for participation. Participants, however, had to fall within the
16-32 age group. "We do
not judge them on their profit or loss statements. But on the viability
of their business plan, market research, assessment of competitors,
risk management, resources, employees, technical and business skills
and the potential of the business," said Country Manager and
Managing Director, Roberto M. Moran. Judging the contest had been
extremely difficult for him as all the competitors were on an equal
footing and came from diverse spheres. The Sunday
Times Business Desk met all LiveWIRE finalists at their stalls while
they were being judged on a one-to-one basis. The first stall belonged
to Softstar Technologies, a computer technology service and software
development company situated at Rambukkana. According to Damitha
Hettiarachchi and Chanaka Lakmal, managers of Softstar Technologies,
the company concentrates on assembling and repairing computers.
"We didn't
have money to buy a computer so we begged from owners of broken
computers to allow us to restore them." Having experimented
with broken computers they have now launched their own computer
brand, Softstar, and plan to promote computers in rural areas though
seminars and workshops. Joss sticks Confident,
determined and focused, S.U.K. Jayathilaka is from Damunupola in
Kegalle. Proprietor of Shawbhagya Industries, Ms. Jayathilaka deals
in oil joss sticks, incense powder and balms. Her stall was full
of colourful cardboard boxes containing jasmine and rose-scented
oil joss sticks. "I ventured into this business after studying
the market and business environment carefully. There is a big demand
for oil incense-sticks in our area because the climate is wet,"
she said adjusting her sunset-coloured Kandyan saree. Black joss
stick manufacturing requires drying, unlike oil joss stick making.
Studying the climate and deciding what was best for her region,
Ms. Jayathilaka started her business with a capital of just one
thousand rupees. Acquiring as much as a 30 percent market share
by way of direct sales and 10 percent by way of wholesale trading,
Ms. Jayathilaka plans to expand her business in keeping with her
project report. "I am here today because of LiveWIRE. It opened
my eyes to other areas of growth," she said. Having registered
with LiveWIRE Ms. Jayathilaka has improved her packaging and has
carried out market research in Kurunegala, Matale and Kandy to identify
potential markets. "I didn't carry my name on the packaging
before and didn't have any idea how a proper market survey should
be conducted. I learnt a lot from LiveWIRE." She has identified
kovils and temples that have a demand for her products and plans
to operate mobile stalls in these areas. Penetrating
a market dominated by three large-scale manufacturers was somewhat
difficult for Ms. Jayathilaka at the beginning. To compete,
she quoted competetive prices and adopted cost-effective manufacturing
strategies to reduce the production cost. "I wouldn't have
made such progress had it not been for the project report done for
LiveWIRE. I never planned ahead and only wanted to live for the
moment but LiveWIRE showed me how much I can improve if I had long-term
plans." Within three
months of preparing the report Ms. Jayathilaka was able to expand
her sales from 575 to 1,500 bundles. She plans to upgrade her factory
to middle-level by 2003-04. "There is a myth that the Sinhalese
cannot do well in this trade. My competitors are all Muslims and
being a Sinhalese woman I face tough challenges. But I am determined
to disprove the myth." Greeny Willows Along the left
partition of the stall were bunches of lemon, rambuttan and ambarella
and at the entrance was a vesak tree full of blooms. "The tree
gives rain, rain gives water, water gives food and food gives life,"
Senanayake had written below his stall name. He has approached the
business in a different perspective. "My father concentrated
on tea and pepper and planted the same number of plants every year.
I introduced other varieties and increased production every year."
His business
has become more organised after registering with LiveWIRE. "I
even printed visiting cards," he said with a triumphant smile
adding that LiveWIRE showed him the right path to follow. Catering
service Freshwater
fish When the automobile
firm he had worked for closed down, Samarawickrema initially planned
to start a garage. He decided
to work abroad for a couple of years to acquire the capital to set
up a garage. It was during this period that some villagers advised
him to venture into freshwater fish breeding. "I had no clue
about breeding fish let alone identifying the various varieties
but still bred 5,000 fish initially." Without proper
market connections, Samarawickrema had been in the dark before organisations
like the Mahaweli Development Authority, CARE, GTZ Project, NECAP
Project, North Central Province Rural Development Project, and Services
Lanka were introduced as potential buyers under the Shell LiveWIRE
programme. Readymade
garments Ornament
manufacture "Our early
products were not as smooth and nice," said Tennekoon who has
left his job at the National Youth Services Organisation to become
an ornament manufacturer. Tennekoon first realised the market potential
of his product when he ran a stall at a fair at Nuwara Eliya and
sold Rs. 60,000 worth of ornaments within the first 12 days of the
fair. With Shell
stepping forward to play an important role in the process of sustainable
development, entrepreneurs like those who competed in this contest
have benefited in numerous ways. "Sustainable
development is about balance and integration. Integrating the economic,
social and environmental aspects of everything we do and balancing
short-term projects with long-term needs. And at a time
when society is exploring how to put sustainable development into
practice it is clear that Shell LiveWIRE has started a never-ending
journey," said Vasantha Kumarasiri, Promotions Manager, Sabaragamuva
Development Bank. He felt that programmes like LiveWIRE are extremely important because there are very few programmes of this type in rural Sri Lanka. "LiveWIRE is a way of promoting entrepreneurial skills in communities, especially those in which employment opportunities are bleak. Rural entrepreneurs are unaware of business techniques hence Shell has stepped forward with LiveWIRE to create opportunities for the buds to blossom," he said. And
the winners... Rishen Fernando
and Harin Nanayakkara of E-Futures Pvt Ltd bagged the first prize
of Rs. 200,000 while the first runner-up Nandani Ajantha of Susinidu
Dress Point received Rs. 75,000. The second runner-up Hemantha Priyadarshi
of Ishara Printers received Rs. 35,000. All other finalists won
complimentary prizes worth Rs. 10,000 each from Athvela Viyaparika
Sangarava. The winners
for the evening, E-Futures Pvt. Ltd, used simple decor for their
stall comprising two posters pulled across a table and three laptops
displayed on three black stools. Incorporated in January 2000 to
provide tailor-made software solutions for governments of developing
countries, E-Futures is a global digital solutions provider that
helps leading organisations to generate competitive value by leveraging
the power of technology. Based in Sri
Lanka and the United States, E-Future has long-term goals. Both Fernando
and Nanayakkara plan to develop their software solutions for governments
of developing countries. "We started off with zero capital
except for the Rs. 20,000 used for incorporation," said Fernando
who comes from an entrepreneurial background. His mother runs her
own business and Fernando had always wanted to start his own venture.
Committed to
become the most recognised e-governance consultant and integrator
in developing countries, E-Futures seeks to develop a strong network
among governments, donor agencies and corporations. Employing 15
permanent employees and seven consultants, the managing duo plans
to recruit graduates. "There is a great deal of young business
personalities in Colombo who would benefit from a programme like
LiveWIRE. I personally feel that a competition like this would result
in greater recognition for emerging businesses and thereby encourage
young entrepreneurs." First-runner-up
Nandani Ajantha of Susinidu Dress Point had a tree full of eco-friendly
cloth bags done for Pinnawela, Horton Plains, the Wildlife Department
and the Zoo. Running a sewing operation at a loss towards mid-2000,
she only received orders for uniforms and saree jackets. "The
market was flooded with factory rejects and my business collapsed."
She then started a cloth bag business. "This was a failure
because people preferred polythene bags." Undaunted she went
on to create an environment bag and received orders from nature
friends. Now she plans to manufacture as many bags as possible. Murals made out of saw dust was what second-runner-up Hemantha Priyadarshi of Ishara Printers used for decor. Priyadarshi who started his business with Rs. 3,000 has equipment worth five to six lakhs of rupees today. "I didn't know anything about printing but learnt screen printing after visiting 13 printers." He prints tutorials for tuition classes, posters, cut outs and banners today and thanked LiveWIRE for the exposure. "Shell looked at us as services providers and that is what is most important. That in itself is an achievement," he said. What
is the Shell LiveWIRE programme? Operative in
14 countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Oman, Mauritius
and Singapore, LiveWIRE was established in Sri Lanka in December
1999 as a pilot programme. "We do not provide any financial
assistance to young entrepreneurs. But depending on their business
plans, regional co-ordinators assist them to obtain loans and help
them succeed in business," said Steven Bartholomeusz, Corporate
Communications Manager Shell- Sri Lanka. LiveWIRE is
a youth enterprise programme and in most countries the target age
group comprises those between 18-25. In Sri Lanka, however, the
age limit has been extended. "We see in Sri Lanka that most
people who go to university, work for a few years and then decide
to start on their own are over 25 and saw a necessity to extend
the age limit to 32." Suggestions have been made to extend
the programme to include those under 35 but Shell has decided not
to extend the age limit. "That would defeat the purpose of
the programme. After all this is a youth enterprise programme,"
Bartholomeusz said. Participants
of the LiveWIRE programme can be those already in business or those
thinking of starting a business. According to Bartholomeusz: "The
workshop is all about idea-generation. People who haven't thought
of starting businesses will be shown various avenues and those already
in business will be guided to achieve their goals." Some of
the candidates have been to 'Bright Ideas' workshops conducted by
Shell and learnt about LiveWIRE at these sessions. LiveWIRE provides
information on business start-up in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
Since its inception, it has conducted over 200 'Bright Ideas' workshops
throughout the island. They have been administered by the Centre
for Private Sector Development and enabled participants to unlock
their potential and understand and use mind-power and creative thinking
to generate and evaluate business ideas. When LiveWIRE
was launched in 1999, 456 youth registered with the programme, much
to the surprise of the organisers who expected about 250 participants
only. "This is when we had not tied up with many partner organisations.
We had not gone out there and marketed LiveWIRE." Pilot workshops
had been held in Colombo but they were not received with much enthusiasm.
"In rural areas we spent about 45 minutes answering questions,"
said Bartholomeusz who feels that the value and demand for this
programme is in rural Sri Lanka. Within the
last seven months over 1,100 youth have registered with LiveWIRE
and Shell has conducted over 70 'Bright Ideas' workshops in the
suburbs. A number of
partner organisations like the Sabaragamuva Development Bank, the
Hambantota Chamber of Commerce, the Sabaragamuva Chamber of Commerce,
the Sarvodaya Seeds Programme, SANASA and Samurdhi work with Shell
to implement the programme throughout the country today. |
||||||
Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
garments
and ornaments created a carnival atmosphere.
