US Ambassador visits Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce

The United States’ Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Patricia A. Butenis visited the Hambantota district recently and held discussions with the Board of Directors of the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC). Ambassador Butenis also distributed business start-up loans to women entrepreneurs receiving support through a USAID funded project implemented by HDCC.

During discussion with the businesswomen, Ambassador Butenis spoke on the importance of women assuming an active role in economic activities and how the project can help improve opportunities for women entrepreneurs of the Hambantota district. She also stated that funds to support the disbursement of loans and other activities under the ‘Promoting Entrepreneurship and Empowering Women in the Hambantota district’ project were channelled through the US Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton’s office under a special fund called Secretary of State’s Global Women’s Initiatives.
During the open discussion, Ambassador Butenis asked several questions from the loan recipients regarding the process of identifying a viable business idea and the operation of the business. The discussion also centered on challenges faced by women in carrying out their business activities and their future plans.
At the discussion, Azmi Thassim, Director General of HDCC pointed out, that opportunities for engaging women as entrepreneurs in the Hambantota district have been limited due to socio-economic constraints. This is further exacerbated by women’s inability to access credit facilities as financial institutions require collateral.
He further stated that this is particularly true of women-headed households who are confronted with lack of opportunities to step into income generating activities due to their low level of education and lack of skills.
Krishanthi Weerasinghe, Manager Strategy and Projects of HDCC, thanked the US State Department for providing grants through USAID for HDCC to implement a project focused entirely on improving opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
She assured that the investment the US Government is making to HDCC is creating benefits for women entrepreneurs, disadvantaged women and the wider community of Hambantota.
The ‘Promoting Entrepreneurship and Empowering Women in the Hambantota District’ project has awarded 14 business start-up loans to women entrepreneurs in the district since the project commenced in July 2011.
The project has provided training to aspiring businesswomen on developing a viable business idea into a business. Through the project, HDCC is also working with existing businesswomen in the district, helping them improve their business management knowledge and skills and supporting them access resources offered to the business community by the HDCC.