From colourful batiks to creating value added garments
In early days there used to be a saying ‘Behind every man’s success, there is always a woman’ but what could there be behind every woman’s success in today’s context is a fascinating thought. The world has changed from women being in the family background to standing on their own feet.
Yolanda Aluwihare Holm making her acceptance speech.
Yolanda Aluwihare Holm, Designer and Chairperson of Yolanda Collection who won the ‘Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2013’ award shared her successful business story with the Business Times at the awards night last week.
“I am a housewife and started painting batik as a hobby and came a long way selling handmade garments to various local clothing malls and exporting them to foreign companies. We export our products to countries like Germany, France, Rome, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Denmark, Maldives and many more,” said Ms. Aluwihare.
For the aspiring local woman entrepreneurs she noted, “Strive hard and diligently to achieve your dreams. Never give up. Work with integrity and self-confidence. Be true to yourself and let the silhouettes you create speak of the person you are as a designer. These qualities will help all aspiring woman entrepreneurs to realise their dreams”.
She had also received the support from the Export Development Board to expand her business to the international market. Starting her business only with batik she used embellishments to make them a value added product in doing business, she emphasised. At the moment she runs her business with 55 workers and has four outlets within the Colombo city limits.
The Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) hosted its eighth Woman Entrepreneur of the Year 2013 awards at the Kingsbury in Colombo last week. The chamber awarded the woman entrepreneurs under large, medium, small and micro categories while the Commonwealth Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 was also awarded to Julian Omalla CEO and Proprietor of Delight Uganda Ltd on the same occasion.
The chamber received more than 100 applications of aspiring woman entrepreneurs from different backgrounds. Woman entrepreneurs from rural areas were also awarded for the pool of talent seen amongst them.
One of the panel of judges, retired judge Shiranee Tilakawardane, told the Business Times, “Every profile of the applicant was verified in detail under certain criteria such as the turnover of the company, the Corporate Social Responsibility projects done, what the company has given back to the community, whether the company was green and pro-environment and so on.”
Women are very sensitive and no one knows what is there around them. They are very centred in the education, health and well-being of their children which is the investment into the future, she added.