The Ministry of Industries has launched a national program to develop young entrepreneurs across the island…..

A program to sensitize District Secretaries and District and Divisional Productivity Development Officers on the National Program to Develop 1000 Young Entrepreneurs Islandwide was recently held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute under the patronage of the Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, Mr. Sunil Handunnetti.
This program, which is to be implemented as an innovative project with the aim of empowering the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector in Sri Lanka and enhancing the knowledge, skills, productivity and export capacity of entrepreneurs, is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development and the National Productivity Secretariat.
This program was first implemented as a pilot project in the Gampaha District and 100 entrepreneurs were developed during the pilot project and based on its excellent success, it was decided to expand this program islandwide. Accordingly, the first phase of the program is scheduled to be launched in 17 districts this year and the remaining 8 districts are scheduled to start this program in the middle of next year. Through this program, it is expected to provide entrepreneurs with advisory support, training and necessary resources to sustainably grow their businesses. This will make a great contribution to Sri Lanka’s economic growth, job creation and increase export earnings.
At this event, the District Secretaries and District and Regional Productivity Development Officers were also informed about the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Framework, the District Committee for Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, the District Export Development Programs, the National Productivity Awards Competition and the Community Productivity Program implemented by the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development.
The event was attended by the Secretary to the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, Thilaka Jayasundara, Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Aloka Bandara, Additional Secretary (Home Affairs) of the Ministry, A. G. Nishantha, Director of the National Productivity Secretariat, Niranja Jayakody, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Export Board, Mangala Wijesinghe, Additional Secretaries to the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, District Secretaries/Government Agents, officials of the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, officials of the National Productivity Secretariat and a group of others.