Finance Ministry goes rural to promote entrepreneurship
Loans under Enterprise Sri Lanka subsidised credit has totaled Rs.88 billion to 55,000 recipients since the programme started in June 21 last year.
The Finance Ministry will be going rural to tap the potential of youth with hidden business innovational talents creating awareness on export markets and business skills, State Minister for Finance Eran Wickramaratne told a media conference in Colombo on Monday.
A series of entrepreneurial exhibitions along with workshops is to be conducted countrywide to promote entrepreneurship where the island nation is lagging behind other countries in the region, he said.
The number of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs as a share of the working population is around 3 per cent compared to 11 per cent in Bangladesh and over 20 per cent in Vietnam, he added.
The first of the series of exhibitions was held in Moneragala showcasing 5,175 new businesses. There were 640 stalls and over 500,000 persons visited the exhibition in August 29 last year.
The second exhibition focusing on the development of enterprises and the creation of 100,000 new entrepreneurs by 2020 concluded in Anuradhapura last week.
It was aimed at creating 2000 new businesses with Enterprise Sri Lanka loan facilities and technical help of the government.
People with entrepreneurial concepts and ideas will be encouraged, assisted and educated to make their dreams a reality.
The Ministry has also focused on empowering female entrepreneurs by providing additional incentives with a view of a paradigm shift in the economy in the coming years.
Theses exhibitions will be a platform for intended entrepreneurs to gain the knowhow and share knowledge on the enterprise development, Deputy Treasury Secretary A.R. Desapriya disclosed.
State and private banks and other relevant agencies have been directed to provide required assistance, advise and training for budding youth to become entrepreneurs, he added.