Culturally, Sri Lankan women have long been the cornerstone of domestic affairs, traditionally confined to a patriarchal household as homemakers.
While their roles have been historically defined by domestic duties, they have always been significant contributors to the Sri Lankan economy, specifically in the expatriate labour force and the tea and apparel industries. Likewise, they have the potential to become a progressive source of revenue to the country in the entrepreneurship sector.
In the traditionally male-dominated Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) sector that encompasses over 75% of the total enterprises in the country, female participation remains disproportionately low. According to World Bank Group 2021 data, only 32% of women in Sri Lanka are recorded as employed, while only 25% are small- to medium-sized business owners or entrepreneurs despite their high literacy rate.
Govt. efforts to support women entrepreneurs
While some women prefer to focus on their role within the household, others seek employment outside home. In a transient business environment, as a country with a majority female population, addressing their challenges while promoting equitable job opportunities would contribute to the development of the women entrepreneurship sector and overall economic growth of the country.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Ministry of Women, Child Affairs, and Social Empowerment Director General of Planning and Operations J.P.S. Jayasinghe specified the programmes implemented by the Government to support women entrepreneurs.
“There are several programmes that work towards economic empowerment of women directly through the ministry. The Women’s Bureau of Sri Lanka implements programmes for economic and social empowerment while the National Committee on Women takes decisions regarding protecting women’s rights.
“For the economic development of entrepreneurs, there are several initiatives focusing on capacity development consisting of awareness building, training, and financial assistance such as providing capital, market accessibility, follow-up, and coordination.”
Jayasinghe insisted that there was a lack of women entrepreneurs and that uplifting female entrepreneurs, particularly those who ran rural-based micro enterprises, was an important step.
Specifying the programmes implemented for this purpose, he noted that the Women’s Bureau had held two programmes last year, specifically for women entrepreneurs, and especially those in micro and small enterprises. It has been implemented through the Regional Development Bank (RDB) and the ministry.
Moreover, a Budget proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to implement a loan scheme amounting to Rs. 2 billion specifically catered to women-led SMEs for the purpose of empowering women entrepreneurs has been approved. Under this scheme, a 6% interest loan scheme is provided through the RDB to sectors including agriculture, product manufacturing, food manufacturing, and animal husbandry, providing up to Rs. 250,000.
Jayasinghe stated that the scheme was being implemented through Divisional Secretariat Divisions with the cooperation of banks. Moreover, he specified that aid amounting to Rs. 100,000 without interest was being provided to young women entrepreneurs.
He further expressed concern regarding the lack of utilisation of women entrepreneurship and women’s social capital together with its effects on women’s social development, emphasising that policymaking, implementation, and coordination should be conducted properly with a focus on women.
“One major reason for women to face abuse and social injustice is poverty. It’s challenging to empower women without attempting to eradicate poverty. They deserve resource ownership, property ownership, and the right to make decisions in society. It would help reduce the anomaly in resource distribution and the feminisation of poverty while increasing sustainability,” Jayasinghe said.
He further elaborated that the target groups of programmes included young women, widows, migrant workers, unemployed female victims of domestic violence, and new graduates.
“Because of skilled migration, we need to create job opportunities; we must join hands with the private sector. Food production can be done remotely by female entrepreneurs and then be connected with private companies to improve market engagement.
“There is potential for growth in service sectors like cultural tourism and ecotourism, and even tuition. The Treasury should not make financial decisions that have harmful implications on women and children.
“There is only 34% of female participation at the moment and if it can be increased to at least 40%, it will be a tremendous growth. But there should be support systems like daycare services for children, and men should be educated to respect women. It’s not just about policies or laws but also about mindset and mentality,” he concluded.
Efforts by chambers
Sri Lanka has multiple organisations and programmes in place that cater to the needs of women entrepreneurs. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Ceylon Chamber of Women Entrepreneurs (CCWE) Chairperson Shirley Jayewardene elaborated on the supportive programmes organised by them for women entrepreneurs, emphasising the significance of training programmes.
“We are coming up with a project through the South Asia Women Development Forum (SAWDF). Through this, for the next four years, we will be conducting training programmes through about six chambers in Sri Lanka. We are planning to offer support to about 3,000 women entrepreneurs,” she said.
Jayewardene explained that this project, expected to be implemented next year, would cover aspects such as financial management, labour, and marketing issues by introducing participants to digital platforms. She further expressed that the role of e-commerce was not only to market women’s products for global exposure but also to provide training in technology to help them create improved products.
As the Vice President for Sri Lanka at the Regional Chamber of the SAWDF, Jayewardene stated that they were planning to come up with a regional site that provided access to marketing platforms for all interested women in South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India.
Commenting on the challenges, she expressed concern regarding the lack of financial management. She further identified balancing life and business as one of the major challenges women entrepreneurs faced as they were responsible for running both a home and a business.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) Vice Chairperson Gayani de Alwis elaborated on the initiatives undertaken by them. She explained the work done through their capacity building centre, where they focused on different aspects of entrepreneurship such as access to capital, finance, markets, and know-how.
Referring to past efforts, she discussed a virtual programme on digital finance conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic for around 100 women nationwide. This programme aimed to train participants in starting and conducting business, managing finances, and e-commerce, followed by a physical programme to help them manage even the simplest aspects, such as etiquette. Additionally, a programme in Kurunegala targeted 80-90 women in informal business sectors, providing essential training.
The chamber also conducts various programmes focused on personality development, raising awareness, mentoring, and training in export readiness and e-commerce. It is keen on encouraging women to claim ownership of businesses, noting that despite women’s hard work, men often retain ownership. De Alwis added that all the programmes adopted holistic approaches, such as their fundraiser to develop a specialised resource centre for women entrepreneurs.
In the hope of encouraging women, the WCIC also holds the ‘Women Entrepreneur Awards,’ evaluating candidates across the country in a structured manner.
De Alwis acknowledged that the combined turnover of the women who applied for the awards had increased from Rs. 9 billion to Rs. 34 billion this year. Notably, 30% of the applicants are startups from the younger community, with a higher number of applicants from the Northern Province, revealing the emerging dynamics of female entrepreneurship.
Speaking on future plans, de Alwis shared that there was a finalised plan for establishing a vocational training programme while expanding ground presence in areas beyond Colombo.
Experience of entrepreneurs
The experiences and challenges faced by women entrepreneurs can be subjective and contextual. However, the gender gap can present challenges across various levels of entrepreneurship, from securing financing to achieving leadership roles on boards. Women’s capabilities are often unfairly questioned at these different stages.
Dentsu Grant Group Chairperson and Managing Director Neela Marikkar shared her personal experience as a woman entrepreneur in Sri Lanka. She regards business challenges as a shared experience by both men and women entrepreneurs. While she noted that the approach to problem-solving might be different as a woman, she stated that her gender did not define her, nor was it a key determinant in the challenges faced by business leaders who encounter similar challenges.
“I don’t feel like I’ve had a particular challenge in running my business because of my gender. It does not define who I am, rather my capability. As a stakeholder and the business head of my organisation, I am expected to make key decisions and gender has nothing to do with it.
“This may not be the case for other women leaders who are working for companies they don’t have a stake in. So it won’t be fair for me to generalise, as our experiences may be different,” she said.
Moreover, commenting on the support systems in place to address issues of women entrepreneurs, Marikkar specified from a business perspective that a company must have strong systems and processes that enabled growth, while national systems, economic conditions, and financial support were universal challenges for all entrepreneurs. Business heads are required to manage this irrespective of gender.
“The corporate environment is very demanding if we want to get ahead; unlike men, we as women still have to manage our homes and families despite having career ambitions, which is the challenge we face. Finding the right work-life balance within the family support system is critical to enable us to have strong career trajectories,” she added.
Sharing her thoughts on the future for women in business, Marikkar stated that women played a significant role in the country’s economy and in the global economy as well.
“I’m really proud of what women are achieving today. The transition from being managers to leaders is the challenge we face. Women should be given the opportunity to serve on boards and hold high office rather than the current tokenism we see in the corporate world.
“Women are extremely competent. I believe we add value in our approach to problem-solving. Perhaps we have more heart, bringing another dimension to senior decision-making, which I think is important in a world that is becoming increasingly diverse,” she concluded.
Offering another perspective, Stratyx Write Ltd. Managing Director Savithri Rodrigo shared her insights on financing complications that women entrepreneurs encountered because of the assumption that women were not successful entrepreneurs, making it difficult for women entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.
“For women in general, if there’s no credit history and they only have regular accounts, it can actually go against them. On the other hand, if you have already had borrowings and they look at your pattern, then they will give you the money,” she said.
Rodrigo also acknowledged the existence of a gender bias but highlighted that it depended on the personality of the individual. She shared that her personal experience as a woman entrepreneur had been relatively challenging.
“Because of what I was doing initially and because people knew me, perhaps it would have been easier for me to grow my business, but not so in the financial arena.”
She further emphasised the financial hurdles women encountered when they sought capital and investment as the most significant challenge, unless they were financially capable on their own to invest.
Addressing the future for women entrepreneurs, Rodrigo asserted that despite the discourse on diversity and inclusivity, women were constantly fighting to get recognition and funding, and to grow their businesses. She highlighted that the country should give women the recognition they deserved, especially because they ran three major industries that supported the country’s economy.
“We are not considered leaders at all. Very few women make it to the top because there are difficulties. We can be a manager, a supervisor, or get on the board of an apparel company without a problem. This is because women are committed, principled, professional, and able to think on their feet,” she concluded.
Bridging the gender gap and promoting equitable job opportunities for women in the business sector is invaluable for the economic growth of the country.