Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the national body for marketing, Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the national body for marketing, recently obtained membership of the National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka, the leading trade and industrial promotion body in the country.

This membership will enable SLIM and The National Chamber to create synergies which benefit its member organisations by working closely together on a long term basis. The marketing expertise and resources of SLIM combined with the wide reach and the diversity of membership of National Chamber will undoubtedly benefit the marketing profession, and ultimately the corporate sector as a whole.

As the apex body for companies across the entire spectrum of industry, trade and commerce in Sri Lanka, National Chamber provides assistance and support to businesses by helping promote their goods and services domestically as well as internationally. It focuses on enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of organizations and has constant engagement with the government.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing has been promoting marketing excellence and elevating the standards of marketing in Sri Lanka since its founding in 1970 with the vision of leading the nation’s effort towards economic prosperity. Its mission is to establish marketing as the driving force which enhances business and national value, and contributes towards economic growth. Through constant collaboration and engagement with each other, the two bodies will attempt to provide the maximum benefit to their member organisations through this new membership.

National Chamber offers its members numerous networking and collaboration opportunities locally as well as internationally and SLIM plans to utilize these opportunities in its endeavour to uplift marketing as a profession in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, National Chamber will assist SLIM in its research efforts by providing access to its member organisations and volunteering their knowledge in various fields.

SLIM will support National Chamber by extending its highly sought after corporate training programmes to National Chamber members. In addition, SLIM will offer marketing and sales related educational programmes to employees of National Chamber and its member organisations, helping to develop both the employees and their organisations.

Furthermore, SLIM will support the events of National Chamber by contributing its expertise in the fields of marketing and sales, adding great value to these events. Likewise, National Chamber nominees will join the subcommittees of SLIM’s portfolio of prestigious annual events, bringing with them a wide array of ideas and experiences to its planning and organisation.

The National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka was founded in 1948 soon after Sri Lanka gained independence from British Colonial rule with the primary goal of establishing a forum for the Sri Lankan business community. The foremost objective of the Chamber at that time was the Ceylonisation of trade, as the policy climate was not conducive to national interests. During the past six decades, the Chamber has emerged as the leading trade and industrial promotion body in the island. The Chamber counts some of the most vibrant and progressive business houses in the country among its members. 

In addition to being a member of National Chamber, SLIM has a number of other affiliations such as being a member of the European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR), and the Asia Marketing Federation (AMF), which is affiliated to the World Marketing Association (WMA). Furthermore, SLIM has alliances with other institutes in Sri Lanka such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and in other countries such as the American Marketing Association, the Indian School of Business and the Focus Education Centre in Male.