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Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board’s NEDP boosts SME export prospects

Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board’s NEDP boosts SME export prospects

The Morning: Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board (EDB) of Sri Lanka completed a comprehensive 6-week export coaching programmed aimed at assisting small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) with an export potential, registered under EDB New Exporter Development Programmed (NEDP) to develop their Export Marketing Plans as the first step in their journey towards becoming export-ready.
The New Exporter Development Programmed implemented by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board is aimed at developing the export potential of SMEs to enter export markets.
The programmed consisted of three phases. A group of 25 SMEs demonstrating export potential were selected by an internal evaluation panel as the first step of the programmed.
The second phase involved both individual and group training sessions on export marketing planning. A dedicated team of Export Development Board officers, trained by the International Trade Center (ITC) as Export Marketing Plan (EMP) coaches, conducted these informative sessions. SMEs received guidance from these officers in developing their export marketing plans for a selected product in a target market. Additionally, there were some knowledge sharing sessions for the SMEs on important aspects of export planning such as packaging development for the export market, marketing and branding, logistics and export documentations with the support of experts from the industry.
The final stage featured an Export Market Pitching programmed where seventeen SMEs presented their export marketing plans, outlining their financial requirement for entry into the international market, such as obtaining market intelligence, quality enhancement, capacity building, packaging development, marketing and branding.
An external evaluation panel, including International Finance Corporations (IFC) Senior Operations Officer Rathnija Arandara, University of Colombo Faculty of Management and Finance Senior Lecturer Prof. B. Nishantha, and Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) Secretary Dr. Dilhan Sampath Jayatilleke, evaluated the presented export marketing plans. Rosa Nelly- External Consultant of the Import Promotion Desk in Germany, participated in the programmed as an observer and gave feedback on the Export Marketing Plans presented.
Eventually, Lak Nature International (Pvt) Ltd., Serangreen Holdings (Pvt) Ltd., Saviru Spices and Naturals (Pvt) Ltd., Star Mushroom, Aqua Zone Ornamental Fish Farm (Pvt) Ltd., Cloud Content Marketing (Pvt) Ltd., Jay Ceylon Cinnamon (Pvt) Ltd., Nathuco Brown, Randee Super Food (Pvt) Ltd., St Theresa DC Mills (Pvt) Ltd. were selected by the panel as the 10 best export marketing plans. The winning companies will be assisted by the Sri Lanka EDB to implement their next stage of Export Marketing Plans.

OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s export sector is one of the key revenue generators of the country and the authorities are focused on further strengthening the sector to increase the country’s revenue. The many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by Sri Lanka with other countries have also helped boost the country’s export sector. With Sri Lanka in the process of reviewing, revamping and further expanding the country’s existing trade ties, there’s bound to be a further expansion in the export sector as well. It is in such a backdrop that the EDB is looking at supporting local exporters to further develop and diversify the existing product portfolio while exploring new foreign markets. With Sri Lanka’s economy on a growth path and the many incentive schemes introduced by the local export sector, the country’s export sector is bound to record a steady growth. Given the growing business potential in Sri Lanka’s export sector, foreign businesses/investors could confidently explore the expanding opportunities in the sector. They could also look at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses engaged in the export industry with the aim of further expansion.

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Article Code : VBS/AT/20240116/Z_5

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