NEDA and ILO launch web portal, online one-stop-shop for young entrepreneurs
The doors for the Lankan youth to move towards a much needed entrepreneurial culture opened yesterday when the national SME giant launched a pioneering initiative aimed at the youth of the country in partnership with International Labour Organization (ILO).
The “Entrepreneurial Reawakening” in Colombo by National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) with ILO backing witnessed the launch of www. ye.lk, the special web portal and online one stop shop for young entrepreneurs of Sri Lanka.
“NEDA estimates Lankan youth engaging in SMES to be a low, only 15 percent of the youth workforce. Therefore this initiative attempts to increase youth engagement in entrepreneurship through their most common platform, the internet,” Industry and Commerce Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said.
It is estimated that Sri Lanka currently has 4.2 million internet users.
In addition to the launch of the web portal, a ‘Doing Business Guidebook’, and a newsletter for entrepreneurs called “Vyavasayakaya” was also launched with the participation of Li Donglin (Director - ILO Country Office for Sri Lanka and the Maldives), former Minister Rohitha Bogollagama—who first introduced NEDA bill to Parliament in March 2006— and the newly appointed Chairperson of NEDA and former Colombo Mayor Omar Kamil.
According to government’s latest data, Sri Lanka’s SME base consists a little more than one million enterprises and 92 percent of them are micro scale enterprises.
Small and medium scale businesses tend to be in service sector while most micro enterprises tend to be in trade sector.
Director of ILO Sri Lanka Li Donglin said that the idea of such an online platform came after speaking to many stakeholders including the youth and service providers.
The Lankan youth unemployment is higher at 20 percent than national unemployment level of 4 percent.