Keep Abreast With the Exports and Exporters in Sri Lanka

The sixth seminar for the North Central Province entrepreneurs on the national program of developing 2000 New Exporters was held on February 22, 2019 at The Golden Mango Resort, Anuradhapura

Government in collaboration with the private sector is in the process of setting up an operation of a Business Center for Incubators and Accelerators in the Northern region in order to develop Enterprises in the Technology Sector by youth in the Northern region.   

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Sri Lanka Exports Development Board (SLEDB) are working to uplift and transform the country’s Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and Business Process Management (BPM) sector as part of its recently launched National Export Strategy (NES).

From the series of ICT/BPM Weeks conducted by Sri Lanka Export Development Board in Kandy, Jaffna, Kurunegala, Marata followed by the roaring success of all events, EDB hosts a follow up program crafted with half-day workshop and an industry visit on 29th of January 2019 at Hatch Works (Pvt) Ltd. in the association with SLASSCOM. The main objectives of this event were to make awareness on how to do a winning pitch to market the business, how the operations happen in incubations centers and the available opportunities in the ICT sector for the Regional ICT companies.

Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) has joined hands with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) also known as the Taipei World Trade Centre (TWTC) to promote Computex 2019.

The National Export Strategy (NES) is progressing in the right direction. It has six focused areas and is expected to provide the impetus for the export drive supporting economic growth, Chairperson of the Export Development Board (EDB), Indira Malwatte said.

Ports, Shipping and Southern Development Minister Sagala Ratnayaka yesterday assured that all maritime development plans will be accelerated, while outlining some of the key projects in progress.

Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) won the Ports Authority of the Year 2019 Award by the Global Ports Forum (GPF) for the second consecutive year at the GPF awards ceremony 2019 followed by the conference forum held at the Hyatt Regency Dubai Deira, in the United Arab Emirates on 20 February.

Sri Lanka needs to make greater efforts to get into the US market using the United States Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme as a tool while ensuring that buyers are aware of GSP, said Dr. Fredrik Leuhusen from the School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles.

UAE is blessed with a strategic location between the East and West, which makes it accessible to major emerging economies, linking shipping routes and facilitating goods' transportation between the various regions in Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. Understanding the preciousness of the location, the business community has launched GULFOOD Food & Beverage exhibition in 1987 in Dubai and the exhibition has grown to promote F&B trade between more than 180 countries annually. In 2018 Gulfood set records with 97,000 visitors attending and over 5000 companies from over 185 different countries exhibiting their products.

Sri Lankan Wellness Tourism sector delegation has successfully concluded the participation at Arab Health Exhibition & Congress from 28-31 January 2019 by generating average 100-120 initial business contacts and out of which 75 are potential conversions. All the companies have had successful business contacts with the Travel Agents and other relevant organizations. Most of the Arab Clients have requested short holiday packages average for three four days which will be cost effective and companies are in the process of designing the packages to the identified clients.  Delegation has showcased the best offerings of the Sri Lanka Wellness Tourism sector to the Arab clients & most of the travel agents and it was revealed that there is a huge potential for Sri Lanka to promote Wellness Tourism.

Capital TRUST Holdings Limited has received the ‘Asia’s Greatest Brands 2018’Award in the ‘Diversified’ category. Further, Tushan Wickramasinghe, Chairman/CEO, Capital TRUST Holdings Limited has received the ‘Asia’s Greatest Leaders 2018’ Award.

Most of the Sri Lankan firms participating at the world’s largest consumer goods fair Ambiente 2019 in Frankfurt, Germany, expressed confidence over prospects to win more orders. 

Following the success of the first and the only tab-based Smart Classroom in Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, together with the Ministry of Education and CodeGen International Ltd., introduced the first grade-wide deployment of Smart Classrooms at the Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Boys School on 7 January.

Sri Lanka’s new national policy for its maritime and logistics sectors foresees reduced dependence on Indian container transshipment cargo, Colombo port’s main business for years, given changes in shipping services and emerging competition from other ports.

The Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) will host the first-ever Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Conference and Hackathon Awards on 13 February at the Galle Face Hotel. Organised by the SLASSCOM Business Process Management (BPM) Forum, this event has already seen many companies submitting entries for the virtual hackathon.

The Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade along with the Export Development Board (EDB) will implement seven pilot projects for the development of agriculture for exports this month.

Sri Lankan based JLanka International, a leading solar and renewal energy technology solutions provider in South Asia, has been chosen by the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to commission the Sustainable Energy Unit (SEU) under the stewardship and guidance of Minister of Electricity and Water of Bahrain to install solar PV systems on over 500 Government and state-owned buildings in Bahrain including schools, universities, corporates and hospitals, among others. This is particularly significant since the total value of investment would be in excess of $ 10 million.

The fifth seminar for the Sabaragamuwa Province entrepreneurs on the national program of developing 2,000 exporters was held on 28 January at The Factory Ambanpitiya, Kegalle.

Sri Lanka’s largest co-working office space and business incubator, Hatch, was launched amidst much anticipation on Thursday, 24 January 2019. A panel discussion comprising of Sri Lanka’s leaders in business and social change marked the first of the action-packed, three-day event – staying true to the space’s objective of developing and sustaining the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the larger goal of developing a resilient economy.