Cargills joins Central Bank in conducting training workshops for local SMEs

Continuing its efforts to support the local small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs), Cargills has partnered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to provide a series of SME training workshops.

The first workshop was conducted at the Central Bank’s Centre for Banking Studies Auditorium in Rajagiriya on the 3rd of March and the inaugural session was held under the patronage of CBSL Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal. The event was also attended by dignitaries from the Ministry of Agriculture, state institutions, foreign embassies, international organisations, and academia.

This initiative is an extension of the Cargills ‘Village to Home’ programme through which the Company provides the country’s small and medium entrepreneurs with a platform to engage with a larger network of customers by offering stalls at Cargills FoodCity premises. To date, over 90 SMEs have taken part in the programme.

Recognising the challenges faced by SMEs in bringing their products to the market, such as a lack of financial literacy and awareness about market standards and technology, Cargills plans to offer training workshops for small business owners in collaboration with the Central Bank’s financial literacy training programme.

Attending SMEs will gain a comprehensive understanding on basic financial literacy, packaging and product development and quality assurance.

The Company intends to develop these small business owners into successful entrepreneurs who can meaningfully contribute to the local economy.