New initiative to help Sri Lankan SMEs grow
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Dr. Ravi Bamunisinghe
Year 2021 ended with an onset of a transformational endeavour for small and medium enterprises (SME) – namely the Sri Lanka Small and Medium Enterprises (SLSME), a fully immersed initiative set up to enable Sri Lankan SME development through value creation by means of adopting the business model canvas for innovation (BMC).
It has been introduced by Dr. Ravi Bamunusinghe, a SME Business Adviser/Coach, after having observed a growing inadequacy of SMEs in the country to contribute to the GDP sufficiently and provide further employment.
He told the Business Times that the need of increasing SME contribution to GDP is imminent, considering the current economic status of the country. They make up a large part of Sri Lanka’s economy, accounting for 90 per cent of all businesses and are an essential source of employment opportunities contributing to 45 per cent of jobs in the country, showing that SMEs play an important role in promoting inclusive growth.
Currently, the GDP contribution of SMEs in Sri Lanka is approximately 52 per cent with only 5 per cent contribution to exports while the total GDP contribution from SMEs in successful economies is over 90 per cent.
Dr. Bamunusinghe said that according to scholars, the country will not be economically sustainable without reaching at least 75 per cent GDP contribution by the SME sector alone. Moreover, Sri Lankan SMEs are either reluctant or unable to grow a respective business or the venture fails to succeed within 3-5 years of its inception. Thus, SLSME comes in as a platform that reaches out to businesses to be an active participant in providing solutions to their business-related queries and obstacles.
He said the vision of SLSME is primarily to enable SMEs to be the key contributor to the GDP of Sri Lanka with a mission of stakeholder core-creation through business model canvas innovation for them to better perform business prospect development and planning, operational organisation, leading with effective business decision making and monitoring and controlling business practices. In doing so, the business ventures can bridge the gap between the role of SME business guidance and implementation, thus enabling their development through core-creation and coaching.
Additionally, the SLSME has introduced an interactive website that is designed to facilitate as a change agent using the BMC. The model describes how businesses make money within their respective markets through products and/or services and will assist you in making choices with an understanding of possible implications as it questions your decisions, thus making the strategies you are taking based on reasonable logic rather than haphazard.
This initiative by Dr. Bamunusinghe follows decades of experience having worked with and in varied businesses in Sri Lanka and abroad coupled with a timely trigger by Dr. Lester C Massingham, an International Management Consultant, Trainer and Speaker who has worked extensively throughout Europe, Asia and the Middle East for over 30 years. Currently, SLSME has partnered with Dr. Samantha Rathnayake, faculty Member/Senior Management Consultant at the Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, to aid in transforming SMEs.
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