The National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) recently revealed that only 3 percent of Sri Lanka’s current working population are engaged in entrepreneurship. This statistic was released at the launch of Global Entrepreneurship Week 2024 at the Chambers of Commerce. NEDA Director Dhanuka Liyanagamage described the figure as “pathetic” compared to Sri Lanka’s regional peers and emphasized the urgent need to promote entrepreneurship more vigorously within the country.
“Parents in Sri Lanka encourage their children to pursue higher education, but rarely do they encourage them to pursue entrepreneurship. Even at the university level, lectures often focus on job opportunities without mentioning entrepreneurship,” Liyanagamage said. However, he acknowledged that Sri Lanka has made significant progress, especially post the 2022 crisis, in recognizing the critical role entrepreneurs play in national development.
Liyanagamage expressed optimism that these perceptions are starting to shift. “We are still very low; only 3 percent of the working population become entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. This is a pathetic number compared to our regional peers.
We need to increase this figure to at least 10 percent within the next 3-5 years,” he added. One of the main challenges highlighted by Liyanagamage is bureaucratic red tape, which remains a significant obstacle for local businesses.
Promoting entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka
He expressed hope that the new administration could implement measures to eliminate these hurdles. While several public institutions have been established to support entrepreneurs, the NEDA Director pointed out the lack of coordination and efficiency among these institutions. “There are about 50 government agencies established to support entrepreneurs.
But we have to accept the fact that we sometimes work as rival organizations, intentionally or unintentionally, leading to a lot of repetition which I think could be eliminated if we are better connected,” he noted. Liyanagamage also emphasized the need for a paradigm shift in the mindset of entrepreneurs. Despite having a high literacy rate, financial literacy is still low, particularly among small and medium enterprise (SME) owners.
This lack of financial knowledge exacerbates challenges like limited access to finance, cumbersome business registration processes, and regulatory hurdles. He concluded on a hopeful note, mentioning the increasing interest of international donors in supporting the entrepreneurial sector. “Entrepreneurship has become a popular concept, even among donors who are now increasingly directing their grants to support the sector.
This is a positive development and something to be appreciated. We hope that under the new government’s digital agency, many of these obstacles will be eliminated. As an apex institution to support entrepreneurs, we are committed to driving this initiative,” Liyanagamage asserted.
