United States and Kandy District Secretariat celebrate women-owned micro enterprises

 KANDY-- Women’s groups representing Sri Lanka's diverse communities celebrated the success of a pop-up handicrafts market supported by the U.S. government and the Kandy District Secretariat in commemoration of International Women’s Day. 

“The United States is proud to help make a space for women to collaborate and lead the way as entrepreneurs, social leaders, and peacemakers,” said Ms. Debra Mosel, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Mission Director. “This initiative promotes stability, social inclusion, and a unified Sri Lanka.”

The International Women’s Day event featured cultural presentations by Sinhala, Tamil, and Muslim women’s groups who have worked together to share best practices to grow their businesses and expand market linkages. Funded by USAID through its SCORE project, the event is one component of a multi-year project to strengthen Sri Lankan-led efforts to advance social cohesion and stability.

The SCORE project is one component of the longstanding partnership between the American and Sri Lankan people to support self-reliance, strengthen stability, and promote economic growth.  USAID’s program in Sri Lanka, totaling more than 350 billion Sri Lankan rupees since 1956, promotes a healthy, educated, and employed population.  To find out more about USAID’s work, please see usaid.gov/sri-lanka.