The British Council is working in Uva and the Central Province in Sri Lanka on the Enterprise Project to establish and strengthen Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The project will focus its efforts on SMEs which are led by women and youth from rural and estate communities. The aim is to develop a business environment that is both empowering and enabling, i.e., one that establishes and sustains incoming-generating and employment opportunities for these groups, particularly those who are most vulnerable.
It is hoped this will be achieved by increasing their participation in decision-making around employment creation, business development, and economic growth of the rural and estate sectors.
Alongside lead partner CARE Deutschland-Luxembourg e.V, the British Council is part of a consortium of partners who are delivering the project, which also includes Chrysalis.
The British Council will raise awareness, advocate for policy making, build capacity of social entrepreneurs and policy makers, and support the development of social enterprises. It will also support two regional universities to strengthen their business incubators to build links with the local communities and introduce social entrepreneurship into their curricula.
The project began in June 2017 and is expected to last 42 months, until 1 December 2020.
For more information, contact Sanjeevani Munasinghe.