COSMI urges new President to help small businesses

The newly-launched Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Industries (COSMI) while congratulating new President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has urged him to give special attention to resurrecting the ailing industrial sector in this sector.

In his congratulatory message, Nawaz Rajabdeen, COSMI Founder President also pointed out that the President’s commitment in fostering MSMEs in the regions, and addressing livelihood through women’s empowerment and youth entrepreneurship and skills development, with particularly attention to the North and East regions, was a vital step towards the country’s economic prosperity as well as for national integration. 

Mr. Rajabdeen also requested the new President to prioritize a National Industrial Policy in serving the local industrial community, while maintaining a global outlook.

“Sri Lanka has abundant talent in enterprise, innovation and technology, which should be harnessed for the greater well-being of the populace and also support the national economy in alignment with the principles of a circular economy and inclusive and sustainable industrial development while facing the challenges of the 21st century,” he noted, adding that the chamber movement is keen to support President Rajapaksa in developing the country towards a secure, peaceful and enterprising nation.

COSMI was founded in 2019 by a group of veterans in the chamber movement in Sri Lanka, with a mission to revive, foster and promote industrial MSMEs in Sri Lanka. Services provided by COSMI to industrial MSMEs include accessing low cost finance, productivity improvement, capacity development, technology upgrade and automation, industry linkage, international trade, and legal and regulatory guidance. COSMI is now inviting registrations from grassroots industrial MSMEs across the country to help them, and is in parallel building an industrial MSME database as a basis for business intervention services provided.