New breed of Lankan entrepreneurs emerge under Sri Jayawardenepura University initiative
View(s):A new breed of educated entrepreneurs is emerging in Sri Lanka with the launch of the B.Sc Entrepreneurship (special) degree programme at the Sri Jayawardenepura University’s Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce – Department of Entrepreneurship.
The course requires the students to start their own business at the end of their third year and the department imparts the students with knowledge, provides all necessary facilities along with the congenial guidance. The final year students of the department have already initiated their businesses in differing fields and are successfully running their ventures where the income of some of them exceeds Rs.100,000 per month, noted Dr. Nandadasa Narayana, a world renowned Sri Lankan Innovator and Inventor.
He made these comments while delivering the keynote speech at the recent Certificate Awarding Ceremony at the Faculty of Management Studies and Commerce – Department of Entrepreneurship – University of Sri Jayawardenepura, Sri Lanka.
He said entrepreneurship is a critical factor when leading Sri Lanka to be the miracle of world. “As citizens we all are responsible for the creation of an entrepreneurial culture within the country. In today’s world to be entrepreneurial it is necessary to be creative innovatively. Innovative is to be different while being in the same frame-work. This is why in this competitive economic structure, it is necessary to be creative to do the thing in demand in a more efficient and effective way…. the innovative way,” he said, in remarks released to the media.
Dr. Narayana, chairman of the Flexport Group, explained how his participation at the Innovation Economy of EXPO 2013 in May, created a unique opportunity to obtain funding for commercializing high-growth innovations of Sri Lanka. This organization, Innovation Economy eKonnet Inc. based in the USA the collaboration of 18-other countries has an accumulated fund of US$ 107 billion.
He described how he made a global solution in natural packaging and won plaudits at the inventor competition of 43 countries in Geneva International Inventors Exhibition in 1996. The World Intellectual Property organization (WIPO) called it an ‘innovative solution for developed countries solid waste problem’.
His PacGro innovation has resulted in Dr. Narayana being a collaborator and stake holder of a funding mechanism build by 19 countries including USA, for commercialization of high growth innovations including Sri Lanka.
Dr. Narayana said that, “I want to leave a legacy just like my grandfather D.J. Wimalasurendare (the father of Sri Lanka’s hydropower systems) to use green power to run the packaging industry”.
Dr. Narayana revealed how the Innovations Economy eKonnect got to him: “Not long ago an MBA student in the US connected with me through LinkedIn asking for my help. She identified that I was a world recognised inventor and she wanted an innovative idea to give job opportunities to the 50,000 jobless in Southern California. I was recognised for my inventions by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which saw a tremendous market potential for Flexport’s Coirpack and PacGro which could replace plastics and expanded polystyrene. A CNN world news story said that ‘Sri Lanka has invented a global solution in packaging, where once the packaging is discarded it would serve as compost fertilizer to grow trees and 18 other uses of its life cycle. The market value of this innovation is $545 billion, as declared by the President of the World Packaging Organization, while awarding two World Stars to my innovation during the Award Ceremony in Birminham, UK.
He said the $300 million offer received from Canada from a leading waste research company ended with just $30,000 remittance as a result of the Pettah bomb blast confirming to investors that the country is in fully fledged war situation. That was the end of commercialisation of PacGro and which was shelved until the problems were sorted out. But despite that he never stopped efforts to create and innovate, identifying the needs of the country with shoe-string funding using only Flexport working capital.
He said to strengthen the existing and potential entrepreneurs of the country, the university’s entrepreneurship department has also established a unit called “Small and Medium Enterprises Development Support Unit” (SMEDSU) which addresses the quest for entrepreneurial knowledge of the applicants.
It has introduced courses from certificate level to master level in the field of entrepreneurship which is a timely need. Students of the programme were able to win the best entrepreneur awards in the years 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and it reveals the success of the programme.
“The only way of gaining lost pride is entrepreneurship. The only way to stand on our own feet is entrepreneurship. The only way to prosperity is entrepreneurship. Hence this is the high time to awaken the sleeping lions. That is the only way of brightening the futures of the younger generation of the nation as well as the sole responsibility of us all for our mother nation,” he said.
Entrepreneurship, Dr. Narayana added, “is all about doing something new. It is doing something creative. It is to challenge the tradition and think innovatively. Entrepreneurs act as change agents, generate innovations and act for the advancement of the nation. They do not fear taking challenges. They do not fear change. An entrepreneur is very courageous, energetic and self-confident.”
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