By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) had taken measures to empower women Led Businesses to enter international market by Branding through Packaging.

The Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme organized by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) was focused on the theme “Branding through Packaging” to support women-led businesses in Sri Lanka.

The program aimed at enhancing their knowledge on product branding and packaging to help them to enter the international market. The EDB collaborated with Slick, a leading company in Sri Lanka packaging industry, to provide valuable insights and guidance to the participants from their expertise in Branding and Packaging.

The program was organized to coincide with International Women’s Day and is part of the EDB’s efforts to support and empower women led businesses in Sri Lanka to enter the export market.

The Women Entrepreneurship Development Programme organized by the EDB included a knowledge-sharing workshop on “Branding through Packaging” for over 60 women entrepreneurs and a competition for export-oriented women-led businesses.

Six selected winners were awarded valuable certificates and gift vouchers from Slick for availing printing and packaging solutions for individual awardees. This was aimed at helping the women led businesses improve their branding and packaging to better compete in the international market.

EDB Chairman Suresh de Mel stated that Sri Lankan women are more powerful and have the ability to resist any circumstances from their genes. He further added that they need some encouragement and support to awaken their potential and achieve their targets.

The EDB has identified three main areas for development in women entrepreneurship – Capacity Development, Product Development, and Market Development.

These components are crucial to enable leading businesswomen to achieve global success. Many Women Led Businesses face various economic, social, and physical barriers to enter the international market.

The Women Entrepreneurship Development Programmes organized by the EDB since 2018 have helped women entrepreneurs to enhance their knowledge and skills in various areas related to entrepreneurship and identify opportunities in the international market.

Women Led Businesses play a crucial role in driving economic growth and development in a country. Therefore, it is important to support and empower them, especially those with export potential, as they can contribute significantly to the foreign exchange earnings.

Chairperson of Ramya Holdings (Pvt) Ltd,Mrs. Ramya Weerakoon, emphasized the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and constantly improving one’s skills and knowledge to remain competitive in the market.

Krishna Ravindran, Director of Printcare Digital Solutions (Pvt) Ltd, also shared him insights. The participation of Ms.Linda Mense, Regional Expert Import Promotion Desk – Germany and Dr. Dilhan S. Jayatilleke, Executive Committee Member, Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, Mrs. Malani Baddegamage, Acting Director General of the EDB and Officers of the EDB further added value to the program.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): Learning from one of the world’s most desirable wellness destinations in Sri Lanka’s approach to tourism, the authorities have taken measures to put itself in the global wellness map with the support of the European Union (EU).

Commonly known among tourists as a heavenly wellness destination that attracts weathered travellers from around the world,the government will be taking every possible step to promote wellness tourism in the country.

As part of the EU response to support the revitalization of the Tourism Industry in Sri Lanka, two Train the Trainer workshops were held in March

The aim is to prepare for the launch of new wellness tourism courses followed by a certification ceremony on 24 March with representatives from the Delegation of the European Union,

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, and the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism Association in attendance.

This initiative is a part of the EU-funded project ‘Capacity Development for the Wellness Tourism Industry of Sri Lanka’ that aims to raise the quality standards of wellness tourism and will aid in better positioning Sri Lanka as the preferred destination for well being.

Following a national call for applications, over 50 people from hotels, resorts, Ayurveda centres, colleges and universities received a comprehensive training covering both theoretical and practical aspects on implementation of the new curriculum.

The trainers were given hands-on training on how to coach and the mentor therapists and spa/wellness centre managers were taught key techniques, know-how and skills to upgrade and strengthen the efficiency and quality of their services.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Beatrice Bussi, Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Sri Lanka stated, “Wellness tourism is about responding to the growing wish that vacation is used to revitalize oneself.

Sri Lanka offers a unique experience for wellness by combining rich biodiversity, healthy and tasty food, as well as spiritual practice rooted in cultural heritage. The EU has set up this training programme to support Sri Lanka’s efforts to become part of the global wellness map”.

The project supported by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism Association is part of the broader EU support of 2,8 billion rupees extended to the tourism sector.

Moreover, recognizing the importance of promoting Sri Lanka as a tourist destination, the EU is launching a special campaign building on the work carried out through the 8 ongoing EU-funded projects to help revive the tourism sector.

The EU has provided around Euro 1 billion (approximately LKR 390 billion) of assistance to Sri Lanka so far, through a variety of bilateral, regional, and global programmes in different sectors. Financial support is based on the country’s policies and priorities, as well as EU strategic interests and values.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The Government has made a commitment to the International Monetary Fund to unlock the US$2.9 billion bail out loan. It will roll back the state’s involvement in the state owned enterprises and restructure it in public private partnerships or selling such assets to private investors.

But all previous regimes were compelled to continue to expand its holdings and tighten its control with their politically appointed stooges as heads of such state enterprises.

This practice has led to the downfall of these entities making it loss making institutions and burden to the country.

Sri Lanka will adopt a competitive bidding process for asset sales and will shortly call for expressions of interest from transaction advisors to support the divestment program, the state enterprise re-structuring unit sources divulged.

All assets will be sold through a competitive bidding process and no unsolicited bids will be accepted.The first step will be to select transaction advisors.

It will work with development financial institutions and qualified and experienced consultancy firms to provide transaction advisory services after the transaction advisors study the companies, the unit will call for bids.

Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has given the go ahead for the sale of SriLankan Airlines including Sri Lankan Catering which has large volumes of debt from losses after it was taken back to state management from Emirates.

Sri Lanka Telecom, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation, Litro Gas Lanka Ltd/Litro Gas Terminals Pvt Ltd, Canwill Holdings Pvt Ltd which owns the Grand Hyatt building, Hotel Developers (Hilton) are also in the list.

The total loss of the key 52 SOEs was Rs.726.9 billion for the first eight months of 2022 of which 31 SOEs recorded a profit before tax of Rs. 134.9 billion and the balance, 21SOEs reported a net loss of Rs. 861.7 billion.

Notably, 99 percent of the total loss has been generated by three SOEs namely, CPC, CEB, and Sri Lankan Airlines (SLA) totaling a cumulative loss of Rs. 854.5 billion from these entities. These three entities have been loss making for years which has resulted from debt overhang warranting cost reflective pricing for CPC and CEB and restructuring of SLA to mitigate large fiscal risks.

The levy/dividend collection dropped to about Rs. 17.8 billion in the first eight months of 2022 due to the contraction of the economy.

The transaction advisors will assist in “sell-side due diligence, valuation, data room creation, transaction strategy and marketing” of the firms, according to a statement from the re-structuring unit.

In addition to getting immediate cash from asset sales, helping boost cashflows, the government will also bet a share in any higher future profits under private management through corporate income tax, not counting turnover taxes.The debt of SriLankan Airlines will be re-structured before a divestiture.

According to IMF program related documents, a plan to restructure debt of several state companies including SriLankan Airlines has to be approved by cabinet by June 2023 under a structural benchmark involving a World Bank program.