The WCIC is the first women–only Trade Chamber to be set up in Sri Lanka. It is dedicated to promoting the cause of Sri Lankan businesswomen and professionals. Since its establishment, the WCIC has paved the way for women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka and inspired women in other countries to work together toward a shared goal. We interviewed its Chairperson Anoji de Silva on the work of the WCIC and its programmes.

Q What does the WCIC comprise and what are its aims and objectives? The Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) is the National Chamber for Women Entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. It was formed in 1985 by a group of visionary women and is considered the first such chamber in the world. The Vision of WCIC is to be the “think-tank,” “voice” and the “platform” empowering women to be powerful nation builders, by participating in transforming the economic growth of the nation. We try to achieve this with a sharp mission which is focused on shaping the future of women, by providing: - opportunities for business and professional development - fostering valuable connections - nurturing and empowering them to reach their fullest potential - and facilitating member success.

Q What are the WCIC’s main projects or what are the main areas that your work involves? The work of WCIC is carried out through a well-crafted strategy and pillar structure. The main area we work for is Capacity Building for Women where we try to upgrade the skills and knowledge and introduce equipment as well as resources in promoting the role of women in business and professional services including WCIC members. We are also active in Policy Advocacy where we lobby government and private sector decision-makers/stakeholders to create a direction, enabling women in business (entrepreneurs and professionals) to grow and thrive, backed by supporting information. We are focused on identifying the needs of the members and facilitating their business growth and capacity building.

Q As the first such organisation for women in Sri Lanka, how has it helped in the advancement of women in Sri Lanka? The WCIC, in our drive to empower talented women, identify women who have exceptional abilities, specific needs, required enhancement of skills and also a segment of vulnerable women who need special attention through policy enforcement etc. Based on these findings, the WCIC created a number of programs to address the requirements. These included capacity and skill development, knowledge enhancement on products and markets, financial literacy and personal development. As we continuously engage with most of the women who participate in these programmes we have seen visible changes in the areas of women being able to identify existing opportunities, breaking away from conventional attitudes, valuing themselves and their talents and realising their invaluable potential as entrepreneurs.

Through our flagship event – WCIC Women Entrepreneur Awards, we have been able to influence and create recognition for women. Our application process itself makes them think through their businesses, establish proper processes etc. The recognition they get as winners has added a lot of value to them as individuals as well as to their businesses. Through policy advocacy, we have been able to significantly influence policymakers in creating an enabling environment for businesswomen as well as professionals.

Q Can you tell us briefly about your work with women in rural areas? Most of our programmes, especially the capacity building programmes are with women in rural areas. Although we are a Colombo-based Chamber that has no bearing on our efforts to reach women entrepreneurs across the country and to provide our services to all women. Some of the recent such initiatives are as follows - Siriliya programme targeting housemaids to develop their skills and capacity, and to enable dignity of labour. Through this programme, we provided training to women who seek domestic work in Sri Lanka and overseas on essential skills so that they will be treated with respect. Most of the participants who have very little education appreciated and valued the input and the certificate provided.

Digital Training Academy supporting women in biz which was implemented in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support Micro and SME Women Entrepreneurs to learn or upgrade their management knowledge in a volatile environment. A 15-week training curriculum of digital capacity-building sessions was conducted for women entrepreneurs in the Colombo, Kurunegala, Hambantota and Jaffna districts. Training modules covered developing professional image, entrepreneurship, taxation, marketing skills, digital marketing, supply chain management, product costing, digital finance, finance literacy, standards and certification, and how to be export-ready.

An inclusive livelihood support programme for selected informal sector female workers in the Kurunegala District (2023/2024) focused on skill development, access to business services and enhancing officials’ expertise to support female workers in the informal sector. Beneficiaries of this programme were women workers from the informal sector in the age group of 18 to 45 years. Training was carried out in three areas, Child Care, Elder Care and Entrepreneurship Development, a 5-day skills development training programme in business and technical services and common sessions for the 72 trained women and 20 trained workers. The trained women will be enrolled in NVQ-level courses.

Q How has the work of the WCIC in rural areas helped the women in these areas to progress? The women in rural areas have very little access to knowledge on how to structure a business in a systematic way. They may do something as an entrepreneur but it is not necessarily an effort that adds value to a business. Two key areas that have been identified as universal issues for all women entrepreneurs the access to the market and access to finance. Many initiatives are done not just as capacity building but even in the space of policy advocacy to create an environment conducive for them to grow.

Q How does the WCIC hope to continue to contribute towards the betterment and advancement of women in the future? We do intend to continue the work we are conducting at the moment. We are now on a drive to set up chapters, in every single province so that our efforts directly benefit all the women in the provinces.

Q As for the awards ceremony in February 2024 what is the main reason for having it and what are the main categories of awards to be presented? The WCIC PRATHIBHABHISHEKA–WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR AWARDS 2023, was relaunched last year structuring the programme to be more meaningful, allowing the participants to do a deep self-assessment of the business to be able to effectively participate. We have two key areas under focus, the participants will provide: “My Story” which is a detailed description of the thought process and supporting financial and governance information. There are 10 top awards on offer, including the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for Sri Lanka and Woman Entrepreneur of the Year for the SAARC region. The women will submit applications under 6 categories, based on the size of the business and a separate category for the SAARC. There will be Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for each category. We will also recognise the best of each Province and dedicate an award to her.

Q How has having an awards ceremony of this nature benefitted the women involved in various areas of work? The WCIC PRATHIBHABHISHEKA has already provided recognition for many unsung heroes and the winners last year have got exposure, recognition as well as greater movement in the business. They have expressed their gratitude to the WCIC for the support given to them to become visible.

Q In your opinion how do women in Sri Lanka compare to those in the South Asian region? The women in Sri Lanka are highly literate and are well educated. More women enter the university and pass out qualified. This is a huge advantage for our country, however, the economic participation of women is still at a dismal 33%. We have to figure out ways of engaging these extremely talented and educated women with a great ability to multitask to contribute to the economy. Given the traditional role crafted for women, venturing out to work requires a well-structured support network. To ensure that we don’t lose their energy the country has to focus on providing essential support such as child care, and elderly care which should be easily accessible.

Q Can you tell us briefly about your experience in the corporate world and also your wide expertise as a Chartered Accountant? I am a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and a practising Accountant. I have also served as a Member of the Council of CA Sri Lanka from 2020. I am also a Partner of Ernst & Young Sri Lanka and Maldives and am the lead audit engagement partner for several large diversified local and international groups and companies spanning multiple sectors. As the Sri Lankan host for the EY Winning Women Programme, I have also been instrumental in introducing several leading Sri Lankan women entrepreneurs to global business networks and the EY network that support such women.

Q How has your wide experience helped in your role at the WCIC? My professional work as an auditor gives me a lot of insights into best business practices, industry norms and regulations which I use to help women in business. Being part of the EY Entrepreneur Winning Women Programme, has also given me access to a global network of Women Entrepreneurs and the EY network that supports such women. One of the WCIC PRATHIBHABHISHEKA winners Tania Polonowita Wettimuny was selected for this programme last year and the nomination was from what I submitted from the WCIC Winners. This gives global visibility to our women. I am also the alternate Chair of the CA SME Task Force where we launched a Mentor Development Programme in Galle, Kandy, the Western Province and Jaffna as pilot projects to develop the CA SME Mentoring Model, SME Knowledge Sharing sessions, in collaboration with other SME ecosystem participants such as financial institutions, service providers and government agencies.

Q In your experience is it difficult for women in Sri Lanka to reach the top of the corporate sector and what are the reasons for this? Reaching the top may not be easy for a woman but not an impossible task. Her competence and commitment will take her to any level she strives to attain. Today we have many who are at the helm of several great organisations. Many women have become a part of the Boards establishing that gender is not a limitation.

By Kshalini Nonis