Nearly 200 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from all over Sri Lanka were provided an opportunity by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, to exhibit and sell their products and services in Colombo, and to engage with customers at an SME Trade Fair recently.
The two-day fair at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC), Colombo 1, saw the participation of SMEs from Jaffna, Batticaloa, Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Kurunegala, Kandy, Ratnapura, Matara, Negombo, Kalutara and Colombo, and eight corporate entities that provide services to SMEs and the country’s agriculture sector.
The Bank provided an opportunity for eight SMEs to exhibit their products via a digital channel developed by ComBank LEAP GlobalLinker, a platform developed by the Bank to help businesses access global markets using digital technology. A mobile app for the LEAP program was also launched during the inauguration of the event.
The SME Trade Fair was opened by Commercial Bank Managing Director/CEO Sanath Manatunge, Chief Operating Officer S. Prabagar and members of the corporate management with invitees including Commercial Bank Chairman Prof. Ananda Jayawardane and IFC Country Manager Alejandro Alvarez de la Campa, IDB Chairman Dr Saranga Alahapperuma and the President of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Prof. Lakshman Watawala.
A bank official said the SME Trade Fair and Exhibition not only provided an opportunity for SMEs to showcase their products to a wider audience, it helped them to find potential buyers, source new suppliers, study other similar products in the market and the prevailing market dynamics, and to meet exporters to make their products export-ready.
The Bank had set up an Industry Helpdesk Industry manned by representatives of the Bank as well as government institutions such as the Industrial Development Board, Export Development Board, Sri Lanka Standards Institution, Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, Central Environmental Authority and National Engineering Research and Development Centre and private institutions such as Bureau Veritas and Safo Consultancy to provide advice to exhibitors and visitors.
An Exporter Hub at the location was used to connect local producers with exporters to help strengthen export value chains under the Bank’s ‘Diribala’ Exporter Development Program. Twelve large scale direct exporters volunteered to negotiate with suppliers, and over 30 local producers were given an opportunity to meet exporters with their product samples and obtain advice, the official said.
A novel element to the event was the participation of about 25 students of the School Entrepreneurship Club of Yasodara Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Gampaha, who exhibited their products.
Three awareness programs were conducted under the topics ‘Managing Business for Start-ups’ by the Deputy Director of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka Mrs. S.D.N. Chamindini; ‘Strategies for Business Resilience and Renewal’ by Master Trainer Ismail Azeez; and ‘Sustainable Entrepreneurship’ by the Co-founder of Good Market, Ms. Achala Samaradivakara.
This was the second SME Trade Fair organised by the Bank. The first was held in March 2022 at Diyatha Uyana on the same lines.
