Encouraging social enterprises in Sri Lanka

While social enterprises are becoming an economic and social force in the world, they are considered as alternative ways of generating wealth, creating employment promoting economic development, tackling poverty and social exclusion among others.

In measuring the social entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka, the Social Enterprise Sri Lanka ( SESL) in partnership with the British Council conducted a research study to assess the depth of penetration and success in Sri Lanka. Earlier, a conference was held and the report was discussed.

Last week a media briefing was held at the Renuka City Hotel by SESL to announce the second International Conference on Social Enterprise and Social Finance to be held on January 28- 29 at the Water’s Edge Hotel, Battaramulla to release the second survey report and discuss the issues.

Last year the research report was launched, discussed at the first conference and two best success stories were revealed. One such enterprise – People’s Organisation for Development of Imports and Exports (PODIE) was featured in the ‘Business Times (BT) on July 15, 2018 under the caption “Social enterprise making its mark in Sri Lanka”.

Dr. Lalith Welamedege, Managing Director - SESL giving details of this year’s conference said that Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor, Central Bank would be heading the panel under the theme “Think Social, Produce Social and Buy Social”.

During the media briefing several successful social enterprises – local and foreign were highlighted. One was about a newly married man from Coimbatore, India. In that country 300 million women are unable to afford sanitary towels and at least one in five girls drop out from schools due to menstruation. One day this man – Muruga - noticed his wife hiding something in her back. Suspicious, the man followed her to find that she was hiding a rugged cloth with blood stains here and there on the cloth. When he asked what it was. The woman had said it was none of his business and slapped his face in anger. She was practising unhygienic methods to manage her period .

With that experience he thought he could try to help these 300 million women and decided to make his own sanitary pads. He bought cotton web rolls cut them into triangular pieces. He made two towels in two days that were identical to that available in the market. He tested it on his wife but she said it was very bad and she continued her ragged cloth. He then turned to some female medical students to test but they were too shy to use them.

He tried over again, experimented researched and was ridiculed as a pervert. This was too much for his wife and she left him.

Ultimately he decided to test the pads on himself. He made an artificial uterus in a small rubber bladder, filled animal blood in it. It was tied with an elastic band and he walked and cycled. There were short comings like stench smells and blood stains on his clothes.

Yet he persisted and now there are 877 brands making his pads using 1,300 machines in 27 Indian states. Seven countries also import his machines. The revolution was remarkable and he was portrayed on television and featured in magazines on the progress of his venture. This led to a reunion with his wife.