Dasa: Last of the Mohicans
View(s):S.D. Gunadasa who died last week was a Sri Lankan entrepreneur who built a business during the ‘difficult’ times of Sirima Bandaranaike’s premiership in 1970-77, in a generation that while on one hand received political patronage, also inculcated values, discipline and principles in their business model.
It was also an era where entrepreneurs were noted philanthropists (without seeking much public glory) unlike today where philanthropy has been transformed into glory-seeking, stakeholder-enhancement ‘CSR’.
Gunadasa or “Dasa Mudalali’, as he was popularly known produced Duro shirts and created the supermarket concept under the ‘Duro’ brand, which died a natural death after the advent of supermarkets in the post-1977 free market development. Said to have begun his career as a pavement hawker, he turned into a successful businessman in that Sirima-era but was also among a select group of entrepreneurs (according to others) who were ‘favoured’ by the regime at the time.
Yet ‘Dasa Mudalali’ deserves to be considered among a group of entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka who could be described as the ‘Last of the Mohicans’, a phrase used in the case of frontier Indians (in the old Wild West in the US) to describe survivors of a respected or noble race.
For Sri Lankans who grew up in the 1970-77 period, it was a crisis of food shortages, food queues and the ubiquitous ration card for bread due to heavily restricted imports. Residents were forced to buy locally-produced clothes and other essentials in view of a severe shortage of foreign currency.
While many people of that generation do not want to be reminded of the hardships and the economic sufferings, it was also a period that spawned a new generation of entrepreneurs (apart from the favoured few) who grew amidst the tough challenges that doesn’t exist anymore.
Some of these entrepreneurs and organisations were A.Y.S. Gnanam (Cyntex Mills), Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mills (largest textile factory at the time), Linton Garments (Kandana), Harischandra Mills, Hentley (garments), U.K. Edmund (McCallum bookshop), Jinasena (agriculture machinery/water pumps), Vipula Dharmawardena (who popularised batiks), Parquet Ceylon (parquet flooring), G. Seelanatha Kuruppu (handloom carpets used at the Intercontinental and Oberoi hotels when it opened), Kandyg (handlooms founded by Felix and Seetha Yahampath) and Patrick Amarasinghe (Furnifits – rubber-wood furniture).There were many more.
Under a ‘closed-doors’ economy, the development model at the time was that all perishable and non-perishable goods should be produced locally using, as far as possible, local raw material. It was a challenge and a bureaucratic nightmare for industrialists who were forced to import raw material not available in Sri Lanka.
However there were the positives in an era of ‘negativity’ (as perceived by today’s elder citizens), particularly for local industry, according to veteran industrialist Amarasinghe.
He believes that era created a generation of hard working entrepreneurs, encouraged entrepreneurship and inculcated a lot of discipline, values and hard work in building a business, rarely seen in today’s business environment.
The country’s first 5-year export development plan was drafted under the watch of Finance Minister Dr. N.M. Perera and accompanied by FEECs (Foreign Exchange Entitlement Certificate). “It was a sense of pride to be an exporter and be recognized by others,” Amarasinghe recalled.
Another export-related measure was the Convertible Rupee Account (CRA) system where exporters were able to utilize 5 per cent of their foreign exchange earnings for other, specified purposes (like travel or expenses). Others however looked at exporters with a privilege – access to scarce foreign currency.
The textiles and handloom industry grew during that generation (and before) with rows of machines in single storey, half wall (similar to open classrooms) buildings manned by women weaving the yarn into cloth with a ‘clapping-like sound’. The textile sector died a natural death with the ‘demise’ of the Wellawatte Spinning and Weaving Mills (after a major strike) and the collapse of the cottage-industry handloom centres in the mid-to-late 1970s. Today, that industry, in a far-more efficient and highly-mechanised manner, is being crafted by the new generation of garment makers – MAS/Brandix/Orit/Timex among others.
Amarasinghe says he was also somewhat of a pioneer when it came to the paint industry before branching and pioneering furniture made from rubber-wood. “I was an accountant at Lake House (newspapers) and wanted to start a business. I applied and got a license to start paint manufacture with the technical side to be handled by another party,” he recalled, saying he had to call it off due to an issue with the technical partner.
That led to a partnership (use of license) at that time with Sohli Captain who starts Paints and General Industries to manufacture paints for ICI Paints, UK.
Many local entrepreneurs were producing their own machinery but the quality of local products was not up to foreign standards. Consumers were forced to buy local products as they were the only ones available at the time.
Nevertheless, Amarasinghe believes, Sri Lanka could have easily developed a good, quality local manufacturing sector on the likes of Taiwan, one of the biggest manufacturers of machinery and equipment, if the policies were right. The advent of the 1977 free market economy led to the collapse of many entrepreneurs, unable to compete with superior imported products, and resulted in an economy driven by imports with many importers being former local manufacturers.What is discussed in this column today is just a snapshot of the events and style of business, the economy and trade in the 1970s. There were many more developments.
Barring a few, a sizable segment of today’s generation of entrepreneurs is built on political favours, deals and tax breaks.
As Sri Lanka marks the death of another hard working, self-made entrepreneur, it is also a time to celebrate and reflect on an era of hard-working entrepreneurs who build their business from street salesmen like Gnanam or pavement hawkers like Dasa Mudalali.
It was sheer courage, guts and home-made business acumen that led to success – lessons for today’s generation of ‘MBA’ entrepreneurs.