Empowering the business giants of tomorrow with the corporation of Unilevers and CIMA
View(s):The Sri Lanka Youth to Business Forum
Laying the foundation for young business enthusiasts, and exposing them to the best of business, the Sri Lanka Youth to Business Forum was successfully concluded by AIESEC Sri Lanka on the 15th of December 2012. Focusing mainly on Innovation, Corporate Responsibility and Entrepreneurship, the participants were given access to an unforgettable experience in way of business, with the contribution of giants in the field , namely Unilevers and CIMA.
The contribution of Unilevers and CIMA for this worthy event was immeasurable, as their expertise and knowledge was shared among the participants, enabling them to gain an insight on how businesses work. The focus on diverse topics that adds value to the core business and the unbridled enthusiasm of the presenters enabled to participants to obtain a firsthand experience about the complex structure and function of the modern srilankan business environment, in a relatively simple format.
Unilevers rose to the occasion magnificently, by conducting a key session on Sustainability and corporate responsibility. Miss Tilottama Pillai’s enlightening note on how youth could empower their own business ideas by adding value to them and complementing them via sustainable concepts and best practices from Unilevers, added a novel flavor to the traditional business idea generation practice. Insights on to her own experiences as the Corporate Communications and Sustainability Manageress of Unilevers, Sri Lanka, enabled the participants to get a hands on experience and a realistic and practical exposure to this area. Though considered as one of the, if not, the largest corporate entity in Sri Lanka, their dedication towards youth empowerment by way of contributing to youth development via programs such as the Youth to 
Business forum, and as a national platinum partner of AIESEC Sri Lanka, is highly admired and applauded by the collective youth of the country.In an era where Sustainable Business Practices are simply a theoretical concept and very little action is taken in relation, unilever’s commitment towards it is an indicator of the high standards within the organization, and once again proves the fact that it is indeed a world class company.
As the foremost professional qualification in Sri Lanka, and the world, CIMA, enabled the participants of Y2B to go global by their invaluable session on the importance of youth for the entrepreneurial arena and the support given by CIMA as a professional body for such initiatives. Mr. Ravi Edirisinghe, Chairman of Achievers, Mr. Jayamin Pelpola and Mr. Radley Stephen, Country Manager of CIMA Sri Lanka, together, rounded up an interactive and highly energetic session, motivating the participants and creating a can-do attitude among them. With their theoretical and technical insight and focus on application of theory to practice, CIMA worked on reducing the wide gap between theory and practice prevalent specially among the local students and undergraduates. Another national partner of AIESEC Sri Lanka, the contribution of CIMA towards the development of not just CIMA students but also the entire youth in the country is applauded. With their 
expertise and current awareness of the global business environment, the participants found the session done by CIMA to be highly illuminating and a novel experience.
In addition, the following scholarly individuals who have taken the field of business by storm, rounded up the youth to business forum by their invaluable sessions.
the key note speaker Mr. Prabath Fonseka, founder of Agro Nutrition, gave an illuminating account on his personal journey as an entrepreneur, encouraging the participants to take that chance.
Innovation, a rather untouched arena in the sri lankan business context, was impressed upon as a Critical Success Factor by the invaluable sessions conducted on the topic by Mr. Yasas Hewage, founder of Strategy Institute, and Mr. Manjula Dissanayake, Founder of Educate Lanka. The contribution of Mr. Samantha Karandagoda, founder of Wizma Global who conducted a session on Business Ideas, Mr. Akila Ramanayke, Founder of Legacy Travels with his session on Entrepreneurship and Mr. Ashan Jenabdeen, Business 
Analyst of Embla Software Innovations, via his session on Corporate Responsibility, created a combined holistic exposure towards business, empowering the participants and creating an experience that cannot be gained anywhere else.
The srilanka youth to business forum is the only event of its kind, focusing on promoting business awareness among students and undergraduates, and is an initiative done under the BHAG (big hairy audacious goals) project, through which AIESEC aims to have every young individual in the country engaging in a productive venture by the end of year 2015. The success of this event was mainly due to the contribution of the individual and corporate entities mentioned above, and AIESEC Sri Lanka, along with the youth in the country, appreciate their commitment towards the development of the leaders of tomorrow.
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