CMA Sri Lanka COVID 19 SME Development Conference 2023 tomorrow

CMA Sri Lanka COVID 19 SME Development Conference 2023 has been organised on the theme ‘Resurgence of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Entrepreneurship Development’ to celebrate the United Nations - Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME) Day, to raise public awareness of their contribution to sustainable development and the global economy, with the active participation of commercial banks and their MSME customers on Tuesday, June 27, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at the BMICH. 

The CMA Sri Lanka COVID 19 SME Development Committee has been meeting since April 2020 to find solutions and support the SME sector. It has organised conferences, workshops and UN MSME Days annually since 2020. One of the significant achievements of the committee was the recommendation made to the Industries Ministry in 2020 to submit a Cabinet Paper to reactivate the SME Credit Guarantee Institution, which was approved by the Cabinet in April 2021 and ERD of the Finance Ministry has now finalised the setting up of the NCGI.
The conference will address the significance of the MSMEs on the UN MSME Day, which is a global event to give recognition. Some of the key matters applicable to the MSME sector will be highlighted at the conference. This will include the Sri Lanka Credit Guarantee Institution and its role in supporting the MSME sector, need to have an MSME Development Act similar to that of India, role of banking sector in restructuring loans and rehabilitation of MSMEs, entrepreneurship to accelerate economic growth and development and success stories of MSME entrepreneurs nominated by participating banks. 

The inaugural session will be inaugurated by the chief guest, Acting Finance Minister Shehan Semasinghe. Welcome and introductory remarks will be delivered by CMA Sri Lanka President and CMA Sri Lanka COVID 19 SME Development Committee Chairman Prof. Lakshman R. Watawala. Guest of honour, ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and Maldives Acting Director Thomas Kring will address on the ‘Significance of United Nations – MSME Day’. The keynote address on ‘Sri Lanka Credit Guarantee Institution and its Role in Supporting MSME Sector’ will be delivered by Deputy Secretary to Treasury and NCGI Treasury Representative 
R.M.P. Ratnayake. 

Guest speaker, Westcott Electricals Private Limited Director C.M.A. Ramachandran Venkataramani, from Chennai, will address on ‘Success of Indian MSME Development Act to Promote, Facilitate Development and Competitiveness of MSMEs’. Vote of thanks will be delivered by Hatton National Bank (HNB) Head of Refinance Schemes and Special Lending Products and CMA Sri Lanka COVID 19 SME Development Committee Member Bandara Rekogama.

The other speakers will include People’s Bank DGM Enterprise Banking Wickrama Narayana on the topic ‘The Role of Banking Sector in Restructuring Loans and Rehabilitation of MSMEs’. Technical session two will have Strategy Consultant Dr. Nirmal de Silva speak on ‘Entrepreneurship Development to Accelerate Economic Growth’ and Corporate Directors (Pvt.) Ltd Founder/MD Dr. Chamara Bandara will speak on ‘Business Planning and Raising Finances for Entrepreneurs’. 
Both the technical sessions will conclude with a panel discussion, which will be moderated by Management Consultant, H C P Consulting (Pvt.) Ltd Chairman and CMA Sri Lanka COVID 19 SME Development Committee Member Chaaminda Kumarasiri. 

The final technical session three will be the highlight of the conference, where eight success stories of MSME entrepreneurs from participating banks will be shared with the participants. 
The participating banks will include Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, HNB, Commercial Bank, Sampath Bank, NDB Bank, Seylan Bank, SDB Bank, DFCC Bank and Cargills Bank. The finance companies will include LOLC Finance and Sarvodaya 
Development Finance.