Financial Times

MercyCorps’ Food processing Fair in the east
School entrepreneurs steal the show
AKKARAIPATTU -- One of the major hopes behind MercyCorps’ Food Processing Fair in Ampara was to discover potential entrepreneurs. On show at the fair were plenty who hoped to fit the bill, but there was one group that particularly caught the eye. The reason- it was a school.

Assiraj Balika Maha Vidyalaya in Akkaraipattu was there to show off their skills and knowledge of local food, fronted by A. M. Rushtha, S. Sahra, F. Munsifa, M. S. F. Risla and M. M. Rashidha. But how had they managed to get in on a fair that was aimed at promoting business in the district? The answer came from Janice Yaden, MercyCorps’ Regional Programme Manager.

“I got a phone call from the school, asking to participate in the fair. I was a bit taken aback as I couldn’t fathom what a school had to offer. I soon got the perfect reply: ‘We teach future entrepreneurs.’ What could I say? They got a booth.”

And that’s what the fair was all about. It wasn’t just about turning up with products and selling to the general public (although some of the small enterprises did so well that they wanted the fair to go on every week), it was also about looking to take the businesses to the next level with the help of those also attending.

The fair was organised in a bid to better the post-tsunami life of local food processors, ranging from macro to cooperatives, which make up 45 percent of the region’s workforce of national food-related enterprises and financial institutions.

The idea was to get the two sides together and see if business could be conducted. The nationals with equipment, know-how and soft non-collateral loans; the locals with their products, ranging from spice producers, to ice cream makers, to savory snack production.For the small enterprises, a lot of their needs were the same, where the tsunami had taken property and life and it was difficult to build up the business even to what it was before. Their needs were for machinery to make their processes as automatic as possible.
At Razeen Taste, owner Akban Fauzol Hameer said that automation was what his company needed to go to the next level. “At the moment we do everything by hand. If we could buy the needed machines we would be able to produce more, make it tastier and to a better standard,” he said.

He also had a dream that if he could get one of the grants, he would eventually be able to sell nationwide and maybe beyond. Along at the New Hitec Trading Company (brand name Nehtco), mixed fruit juice was on show, as well as ice pops. The Sainthamaruthu-based company’s area of sales was in the southeast, but again they wanted to expand that market. Owner U. K. Hithayathullah said that he came to the show to look for equipment and talk to those who can help expand his business as they wanted to get into yoghurt, ice cream and other dairy products.

To also help those looking to further their business through their 30-plus booths, was the Ampara District Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Back to Business project in the shape of M. A. M. Hussein. His aim was to see what he could do to help bring back business affected by the tsunami. To those interested, and there were many, grants were available to improve livelihoods, credit presentations for banks and training programmes for potential entrepreneurs. Mr Hussein was also looking to join with MercyCorps when it came to training.

For the big boys, all spoken too had learnt about the fair via newspaper adverts. Metropolitan Office Private Ltd was there on the orders of the company’s director. Quinton Frazer said there was plenty of interest in their products, especially tills, note counters and calculators.

As for doing business: “If the small enterprises here can come up with a good business plan there are possibilities of good discounts,” he said.Rajendra Chandrasekara, General Manager Sales, Tech Water, thought that the most popular product in their booth were small household filters that would go a long way to improve the hygiene and taste of the local foods.

“The water quality in this area is not that good, so we hope that what we have to offer will make those enterprises interested.” When contacted after the show he said: “Overall it wasn’t quite what we expected as there were so many children and visitors who had nothing to do with business, but we did get a number of addresses.”

CWC Engineering’s CEO Michael Perera was there because “our company is the leader in the food processing business”. By the time he was interviewed his company had already sold two machines. He said simple continuous sealing machines, to full automatic filling and sealing ones were available, up to a complete bottling plant.As for the weekend, he said: “We had some good enquires and expect some orders, as well as the need to follow up on others.
On a down side, the positioning of some of the booths made it difficult for them to be seen, plus some air conditioning would have been nice.”

He also thought that the grants should have been larger as, in his opinion, more than Rs. 300,000 was needed to make a proper go at completing the entrepreneurial process. But overall he seemed happy.

And what about the grants on offer? There were 20 Rs. 300,000 on offer, but Janice Yaden expected the figures applied for to be less than that.
To claim, applicants had to produce a business and marketing plan, have been affected by the tsunami, and offer products made from local raw materials that were being made before the disaster struck.

Talking to her a few days after the event, Ms Yaden said the fair surpassed all expectations, especially the enthusiasm from those living in the area.
“It became a hybrid fair. It wasn’t just about promoting local produce as it turned into a community family event. There were so many people trying to get in on the Sunday that I had to close the doors,” she happily said, adding that she was also told it was the first time such an event had ever happened in the district.

As for those participating, she said some of the companies looking to sell equipment seemed to have though the fair was going to be more of a trade show, “but those in the food business were very happy”.

It seems that it was so successful that MercyCorps is looking to hold a smaller version in Ampara town to showcase those enterprises that received the grants, of which there were between 40-50 applications, as well as organising similar fairs further north.

So the fair has ended, but the talk hasn’t. Hopefully there are a lot of enterprising people in the Ampara district keeping busy planning their business plans with the hope that they too can soon be labeled entrepreneur. All we can do is wish them luck. (Robert)

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