We focus in this article on the business investment and entrepreneurship potential of Jaffna for both district level uplift as well as overall nation building.
Hence we examine the capacity the North has to be one of the leading business hubs of Sri Lanka while retaining its unique spiritual and cultural heritage as well as indigenous knowledge and to be a spear header in the concept of national unity.
To get a better understanding of the opportunity as well as challenges in entrepreneurship and social wellbeing we spoke to the former head of the Yaarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industries, K. Poornachandran, the current CEO of the Yaarlpanam Chamber, Jurison Jenaraj and Yaarlpanam Chamber Director Stephen Leonard.
They shed light on the Jaffna International Trade Fair, the annual platform for small and medium entrepreneurs held with the collaboration of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, supported by the Consulate General of India in Jaffna and facilitated by the Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services (Pvt) Ltd (LECS) which has initiated it for the past 12 years.
Immense potential
The former head of the Yaarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industries, K. Poornachandran said that the trade fair has immense potential to assist in the national unity process and also to inspire other Sri Lankan stakeholders to organise similar North centric events that will showcase and boost the industry creation of the area.
Poornachandran said that trade fairs are events that will connect people and points out that the entrepreneurship process is one that links up a nation and cites the example of the business connection between Jaffna and Kurunegala.
“Kurunegala is the fastest developing district in Sri Lanka in terms of entrepreneurship, industry, trade and services. This is because it has an efficient and non-corrupt Industrial Service Bureau (ISB) established under the North Western (Wayamba) in 1990.
The ISB was established with the intention of accelerating the industrial development within the province by facilitating a hassle free and transparent process for those who want to invest in the area and to assist boost local industries.
We in Jaffna have been calling for a similar process to be set up here that will help us to steer this district forward to be a hub of industry that will result in the social upliftment of the local people.
This has been achieved in Kurunegala. It is an entrepreneurial city. It has been developing steadily for over three decades and you can see the large number of home based businesses set up in Kurunegala that range from batik to jewellery,” Poornachandran said.
He adds that the development of a district should be reflected in entrepreneurial interest of the people and that it should be the responsibility of Lankans in a position to invest in this task to do so.
Kurunegala notably has an industrial park, in an industrial zone facilitated through the ISB process.
Business development
He said that the current vacuum in Jaffna having ISB mechanism for spearheading business development is supplemented somewhat by an official understanding with the Kurunegala ISB for technical assistance were needed for North industry establishments.
By profession an electrical engineer, Poornachandran is a pioneer in the fibre glass boat making industry, with a factory in Gurunagar and is the chairman of Star Industries Services (Pvt) Ltd, dealing with electrical and services connected with refrigeration, marine engineering, manufacturing of fibre glass boats, playground items and water tanks.
Among the accolades he has received for his contribution to industry in Sri Lanka is the Presidential Award for Machinery in 2007 and 2008.
He said that Jaffna holds high potential for setting up of engineering related industries that absorbs new technologies as well as Sri Lanka’s ancient heritage knowledge.
“Sri Lankans are a people with much traditional knowledge and we need to educate young people on the linking of the two,” says Poornachandran. Following a daily evening practice to cut grass and personally feed the small herd of cows he owns, he believes that a strict regimen connecting both spirituality, ethics and health is needed for maximising personal potential.
“I am 77 years old and I have not lost connection with mother-nature and I believe this is what has helped me to work long hours and continue to work for Sri Lanka and thus defying the challenges of age.”He stressed the need to promote agro industries in the North capitalising on the natural resources of vast land areas of Mullativu and Killinochchi.
State mechanism
To help people maximise the use of their land for such entrepreneurship, it is observed by this writer that there should be a solid State mechanism to solve the post 2009 land issues of the people where many cannot access or claim ownership to their property.
Jurison Jenaraj, the CEO of the Yaarlpanam Chamber of Commerce and Industries and Director Stephen Leonard echo the sentiments of Poornachandran that Jaffna needs an Industrial Service Bureau such as Kurunegala which has been recognised as the best Energy Service Company (ESCO) by the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority (SLSEA) repeatedly and whose work includes investment promotion, enterprise development, training and tours as well as project management consultancies and technical and environmental services.
Jurison whose professional training includes project management said that there is great scope for Jaffna to rise to the current agrarian and overall economic challenges faced by the rest of Sri Lanka.
“Jaffna has a rich agrarian heritage and we have succeeded for centuries in agriculture despite dry weather and arid soil, using many natural processes and know-how. Much of this traditional farming technological knowledge has died out from Northern society. In the current situation I would say agriculture related industries and services are top amongst the potential that Jaffna has to contribute to Sri Lanka.”
Agro produce
Traditional rice varieties, onions, potatoes, mangoes grapes, and palmyrah are among the most common agro produce the North is known for and Jurison said that taken as a whole the entire North still has the possibility of being turned once again into the agrarian paradise it was in the 1960s.
“With agriculture come both modern and traditional technology development and this opens opportunity in innovation and invention. There is a massive need for younger people to adopt agrarian entrepreneurship. This should be looked into by all stakeholders and is connected to saving dollars by avoiding needless imports,” said Jurison.
The shortages of agriculture labour is a serious concern in Jaffna as well as other districts which creates a local discourse of the need for agrarian technology creation. The general inclination of Northern youth towards engineering could help in motivation and training to use traditional and internationally developing trends in agriculture connected technology, he said.
“There is an increasing trend of Jaffna youth seeking employment in the Middle East and other countries for menial employment. We have to focus on keeping these youth in Sri Lanka and train them to be employment creators in their own country,” said Jurison.
He said that traditional entrepreneurship of the Northern region such as dairy farming cannot be under-estimated, especially when there are national challenges on the supply of milk.
“The North was a place where dairy farming was common and a means through which many families earned a stable living as well as achieved health.The traditional manner of carrying out Northern dairy farming is done with a lot of respect as the cow is an animal that is worshiped in Tamil culture.
Rearing cows
Hence no exploitation is ever used on the animal and thereby keeping to humane ethics. Today rearing cows is no longer common in the North and the dairy industry here has dwindled drastically. When discussing sustainability of the economy of Sri Lanka as a whole these points cannot be overlooked, he said.
He said that tourism is a key unexplored area in the district that could uplift the social status of the people, especially if State based and private sector support for concepts such as home stay based tourism is increased.
Northern tourism remains a key factor in both local and foreign tourism says Jurison and added that attention should shift to a more people oriented nature in developing tourism policy where ordinary families should be encouraged to develop small time tourism ventures in a bid to holistically eradicate poverty.
He said that tourism is linked to other business areas such as crafts, heritage food products and jewellery all of which are strong points in the Jaffna entrepreneurship scenario. Due to the Covid pandemic several of these businesses have been fully affected. Their revival has to be encouraged, he said.
Stephen Leonard, a long-time Yaarlpanam Chamber Member and Director added that sharing of entrepreneurial techniques between the North and the South would greatly help in the national unity and reconciliation process.
He cites an example of how facilitated by the International Labour Organisation(ILO), Banana farmers of the North were taken last year to meet their counterparts in Anuradhapura who use diverse unique methods to minimise fruit damage in the process of plucking and use several natural methods for better preservation of the fruits.
Counterparts
These farmers had a series of interactions to exchange knowledge linked to this crop and had been the first time some of them had met their counterparts of the Sinhala and Tamil ethnicity.
“We would like to see more of such initiatives being organised and would like to give our fullest support to these,” Stephen said.
He lauded the annual Jaffna International Trade Fair organised by the LECS and added that similar new initiatives concerning the boosting of Northern trade and entrepreneurship is welcome.