The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) has once again stepped up to provide its expertise to medium-level businesses in the country, by helping them transform and enter the global marketplace.
CA Sri Lanka, together with People’s Bank, recently kicked off yet another important SME Mentoring Programme aimed at providing knowledge and expertise, including access to finance, for the benefit of 34-medium-level entrepreneurs to reach higher levels in their respective industries.
The event was launched with the participation of Mr. Manil Jayesinghe, Past President of CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Sujeewa Rajapakse, Chairman of People’s Bank, and Mr. Lakshman Abeysekara, Chairman of the CA Sri Lanka SME Task Force.
A specialised pool of Chartered Accountants of CA Sri Lanka will provide business owners with the required financial guidance, as well as operational guidance on a volunteer basis for a period of one year.
The initiative is especially timely as it comes when the country is going through a serious economic crisis as well as a foreign exchange crunch, and as such, this initiative by CA Sri Lanka can become an important stepping-stone to help Sri Lankan businesses go global and help contribute to the country’s foreign exchange reserves.
Among the others who were present at the event were Mr. Saman Sri Lal, Council Member of CA Sri Lanka, Ms. Anoji De Silva, President of the Women’s Chamber of Industry & Commerce Sri Lanka and Council Member of CA Sri Lanka, Mr. Nandika Buddhipala, President of the National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka, and Mr. Chaaminda Kumarasiri, President of the Asia Pacific Institute of Money and Entrepreneurship Development.
In March this year, CA Sri Lanka and People’s Bank signed an MoU to support entrepreneurs and business owners who can develop and add value to the socio-economic development of Sri Lanka.
Having understood the important role small and medium business owners play in contributing to the country’s growth, in 2020, CA Sri Lanka kicked off the mentoring initiative.
As part of the mentoring programme, CA Sri Lanka has been providing small and medium businesses and business owners across the country with better access to finance and essential business skills for their long-term success, thereby ensuring that SMEs will continue to be an integral part of Sri Lanka’s future journey.