APIIT BUSINESS SCHOOL LAUNCHES APIIT ATHWELA ( ) IN COLLABORATION WITH NESTLÉ LANKA PLC

APIIT Sri Lanka is a reputable higher education institute that conducts degree programmes ( undergraduate and postgraduate) in Business, Computing, and Law, which are awarded by Staffordshire University, UK. With a current student population of 1,500 students and an annual intake of over 600 students, APIIT Sri Lanka is the largest provider of British degree programmes in Sri Lanka. Over the past 22 years, they have produced more than 4,000 resourceful and enterprising graduates and set a benchmark for quality and standards in private higher education in Sri Lanka.

APIIT Sri Lanka’s purpose is to revolutionise the higher education landscape in the country by igniting a passion for the intrinsic value of learning to nurture future leaders who will uplift lives. To drive this purpose, APIIT Business School trains its students to be employable, enterprising, and entrepreneurial by engaging students in diverse learning opportunities that serve as springboards to help launch students into their futures to competitive, dynamic, and challenging work environments.

Overview of Event

An institutional priority at APIIT is to empower students to develop their talent while nurturing communities. As a means of fulfilling this core commitment, APIIT Business School launched APIIT Athwela ( ) on the 19th of April 2022 at the Taj Samudra Hotel, Colombo. APIIT will serve as a recurring programme to power value-creating partnerships with various key stakeholders that will drive transformational change and make a tangible impact on community.

The inaugural APIIT Athwela ( ) project was launched by APIIT Business School in collaboration with Nestlé Lanka PLC to uplift the business of small-scale traders and enterprises. This inaugural project will see representatives of Nestlé Lanka PLC training APIIT Business students on practical aspects of running a small trading business, such as merchandising, stock control, and working capital management, among others. In turn, each student will work with one traditional street- based local trader in their neighbourhood to equip this small-scale retailer with expertise and assistance to help him better optimise resources and manage operations to be able to stay competitive in an evolving business environment amid changing consumer patterns.

Speaking about the project, Chairman of APIIT, Mr. Bandula Egodage said that “this project creates shared value for all project stakeholders as students will build practical entrepreneurial skills through the training provided by our industry partner, Nestlé Lanka PLC, in addition to first-hand exposure and experience relating to how these small-scale retail businesses operate. At the same time, our students will benefit the small-scale retail community by helping to uplift their operations”.

The project launch was graced by Senior Vice President and Head of Sales of Nestlé Lanka PLC, Mr. Jagath Wedage, and a team of senior representatives of the multinational organisation who addressed APIIT Business School students on the way forward with the first APIIT Athwela ( ) project. They will now be running a series of focused workshops to train the Business School students to provide them requisite knowledge and skills for the retailer business development programme.

Speaking to the 240 students present at the launch about their involvement in the project, Senior Vice President/ Head of Sales of Nestlé Lanka PLC, Mr. Jagath Wedage said “We are pleased to partner with APIIT in this creative knowledge exchange pathway and train the younger generation of business leaders to support the small- scale retailer community to thrive and achieve better livelihoods as it delivers against our purpose of enhancing the quality of life for the people and communities we work with”.

APIIT Athwela ( will be the first of a series of programmes powering partnerships with leading business organisations in the country that will enable APIIT Sri Lanka to empower the talent of its students while creating a meaningful and tangible impact on community.