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Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce marks 20 years ofpioneering servicePosted By deeptha On January 23, 2014 @ 12:00 am In Other Sectors | No Comments

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President Mahinda Rajapaksa to officiate at celebrations on 27 January

The Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HCCC) celebrates 20 years of exemplary service tothe business community and young people of the district this year. Established on 9 August, 1993, theHCCC is the first District Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka and amongst the few legendaryinstitutions in Sri Lanka to hold such an unbroken record.The Primary objective of this pioneering exercise was to promote and develop the economicadvancement of the district through good business practices and progressiveentrepreneurship. Hence, this long felt need, among the business community of the District, wasfulfilled by this chamber.HDCC began as an association in 1990 under a Government initiative that encouraged young newentrepreneurs to collaborate with existing businesses. In 1993, with technical and financial assistancefrom USAlD, the HDCC was formally incorporated, and since then has worked in cooperation with thenational level chambers, the Government of Sri Lanka and many INGOs – as well as with multi-lateral and bi-lateral donor agencies and their projects.Also about this time the Hambantota Integrated Rural Development Project (HIRDEP), under theauspices of the then Ministry of Plan Implementation and funded by NORAD, setup the HambantotaEntrepreneur Service Centre (HESC) – a one stop shop for the entrepreneurs of the district.Then at the end of the 90s, HIRDEP setup in 1979 with a 20 year life span was nearing the end of itstenure and looking for somebody to takeover HESC. They didn’t have to look too far nor, for too longeither. There couldn’t have been a more natural choice than the HDCC to undertake the adoption ofthe HESC. It was the then Government of Norway through the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo thatstepped in via its connection through the HESC.Over the last ten years RNE has, under a number of agreements, provided a significant proportion ofthe funding that HDDC has needed in order to serve the business community, and also to support it inits work to enhance the overall economic status of the Hambantota District. As well as working toenhance the capacity of HDCC to fulfil its primary mission, the RNE and HDCC have worked togetheron other major projects in the district and region, most notably on tsunami relief and in the provisionof access to financial services for the region’s SME communities.

Business community facilitatorHDCC facilitates the business community with information, technology, exposure and lobbying withthe banks for access to funds and organises the workshops and training programs to improve thecapacity of the business people as well as their staff members.Recognising that one of the major causes of the violence in the south of Sri Lanka in the late 1980swas youth unemployment, the HDCC determined that it must implement programs designed toaddress this crucial issue.The Career Service Centre (CSC) commenced delivering careers services as a part of HDCC in 1996with initial support from the World University Service of Canada (WUSC). The CSC has adopted thefollowing mission: “To provide outstanding careers and skills support to young people andrecruitment and workforce development services to employers.”The CSC was successfully established and provides a secretariat for a well-regarded and functioningVocational Training Consortium (VTC) across the District, comprising of public and independentinstitutions providing vocational and technical training and related services.The HDCC decided to address the problem of youth unemployment by assisting young people toconsider entrepreneurship as a real alternative to employment and to give them the skills andfinance to make a success of starting and developing their own businesses.The HYBP was a direct outcome of this vision, providing training, mentoring, and start-up loans atsubsidised interest rates for young people aged 18-35, who had tried and failed to obtain financefrom more conventional sources.The HYBP was legally constituted in 1997 as an independent trust (the Hambantota Youth Business

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Trust) under the management of HDCC but with its own Board of Trustees. It was started inassociation with the Princes’ Youth Business International (YBI), in order to establish a programbased on the principles of The Prince’s Trust and the Prince of Wales’ International Business LeadersForum in the UK.YBI is one of the Prince of Wales’ groups of charities, which oversees a network of 40 youth businessprograms worldwide. In September 2007, HDCC collaborated with the Ceylon Chamber ofCommerce (CCC) to form Youth Business Sri Lanka (YBSL), which is extending the program to otherparts of the country. HYBP is being used as the model for this initiative.

Volunteer involvementHDCC has worked with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) for more than fifteen years, during whichtime a number of volunteers have worked to enhance the capacity of the HDCC staff.In early 2005 the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) and its service deliverycompany, Manchester Solutions (MS), and HDCC entered into an Memorandum of understanding, towork together to promote long-term economic re-development in the Hambantota District,supporting the organisational development and success of HDCC, and developing mutual linksbetween the two Chambers and their members.It has involved a long-term commitment to sharing expertise and resources rather than just a one-offfinancial contribution. HDCC and GMCC were winners of the Best Networking Project category at theawards presentation of a competition at the 6th World Chamber Congress (WCC) held in KualaLumpur in 2009.

Empowering women through entrepreneurshipHDCC was awarded a grant from the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Initiatives(S/GWI) through USAID to implement its Promoting Entrepreneurship and Empowering Women inHambantota District project. Through this initiative the Hambantota District Women Entrepreneursforum was formed and it serves as a networking platform and creates a voice for businesswomen. Itsobjectives are to facilitate information sharing among different groups of women, encouraging themto take control of their businesses.

Catalytic roleIn addition the Chamber is also involved in collaborative partnerships with local bodies too tofacilitate the business community. Playing a catalytic role in the development of the business sector,it initiates action to identify future trends, focuses on key issues, and assists in the development ofstrategic plans to meet new challenges and opportunities. It also maintains close links with thegovernment sector and multilateral aid agencies and provides a platform for the private sector todiscuss issues affecting businesses.HCCC’s role extends to that of an intermediary between the public and private sectors. Placed in anenviable position of pre – eminence in its membership coverage, business acumen and range ofservices, while being responsive to the needs of business in times of rapid change, it has expanded itsscope and expertise to areas.

Disaster reliefThe 2004 tsunami drastically affected the Hambantota District. The HDCC was active in all of therelief, recovery and reconstruction efforts. HDCC members and staff worked alongside otherorganisations in the days following the disaster, helping to meet the needs of their communitydespite the shock and grief of their own personal losses.Many international organisations, NGOs, philanthropists, groups, and concerned individuals fromaround the world funnelled their contributions and programs through HDCC as an effective conduit forrelief and support.The largest program, ‘Back to Business’, used funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy and aconsortium of donors organised by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry to helpthe business community recover from the disaster. The Asia Foundation and Ceylon Chamber ofCommerce also supported these efforts. These efforts and experiences have been captured andreflected upon in the HDCC publication ‘Rhythm of the Sea’.

Information sourceHDCC also publishes ‘Dolosdahas Rata’, which was introduced in 1999, and is a unique local newsservice bringing valuable business information to members of the Chamber as well as news about tothe community, economy and culture of the Hambantota District to national readers. Dolosdahasratais the first regional newspaper of its kind in the Southern Province.‘Deep South’ is the creative theme of the HDCC’s tourism development initiative which seeks topromote the Hambantota District as a prime tourist destination. The HDCC has undertaken a numberof activities to uplift the tourism industry in the District with the active participation and assistancefrom its partners – Manchester Solutions UK and Mercy Corps USA, as well as the Government,Provincial Councils, entrepreneurs and individuals engaged in the industry.


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At the 3rd Travel & Tourism Presidential Awards ceremony, HDCC was announced as the winner ofthe Local Destination Development – Provincial Tourism project category.

PartnersA key strength of HDCC is its ability to form and develop partnerships. None of the work would havebeen possible without the network of partners with whom HDCC has established relationships duringthe course of its existence. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, FCCISL, ICC, NCCSL , BPA , Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO), Youth Business international (YBI) , Greater Manchester Chamberof Commerce, Manchester Solutions, The Loomba Foundation, International Youth Foundation (IYF),The Asia Foundation, International Alert, The British Council, ILO, UNDP, USAID, GIZ , The WorldUniversity of Canada (WUSC), The World Bank ,The Royal Norwegian Embassy – NORAD, Universityof Ruhuna, University of Agder, Hambantota District Secretariat, Employers’ Federation of Ceylon(EFC) and many more have all supported, guided and influenced the work of HDCC.A significant element of HDCC’s success is the commitment of its board members and other officebearers, Committee members who give their time and energy voluntarily for the development of theorganisation.

Membership diversityThe membership of the HDCC is diverse and includes a wide range of business enterprises. HDCCmembers are grouped into direct or small sized businesses, medium sized businesses, corporate orlarge businesses headquartered in Colombo but with branches or interests in the District, andassociations or groupings of potentially many hundreds of businesses in a particular sectoral andgeographical area.

FelicitationTo recognise and encourage enterprises, HDCC holds the Best Entrepreneur Awards ceremony inthe Hambantota District. HDCC also supports and facilitates the participation of the District’sbusinessmen, women and youth at national and international competitions. Exhibitions are anotherinitiative to support the regional entrepreneur community. These events are aimed at facilitatinglinks and partnerships among business people and creating a platform for entrepreneurs in theregion.HDCC from its inception has sought to promote the economic development of the district and in 2001HDCC organised the first Investment Forum and major Investment Forums to bridge the gapbetween demand and supply of information on the development process in the district and to create aplatform for private-public partnership work to get maximum benefit from the development projectsas well as to address other issues such as technical and financial support for businesses.

20 years of progressTwenty years on, HDCC can proudly look back on a two decade of progress and achievements. HDCCis organising its 20th anniversary ceremony which will be held on 27 January 2014 at the Sri LankaSingapore Conference Hall in Siribopura, Hambantota. The Chief Guest at this occasion will be thefirst President from the Hambantota District Mahinda Rajapaksa.On this occasion the HDCC will felicitate its Past Presidents, Committee members and long standingmembers of the Chamber in recognition of their contribution towards the development of theChamber.Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka Executive Director Dr. Saman Kalegama will make apresentation about HDCC in the context of the Chamber movement of Sri Lanka. This prestigiousevent will involve political leaders along with key representatives from public, private, NGO, INGO,donor agency, embassy sectors and a large number of HDCC members and local business people.In its 20 years of operation and action HDCC has made significant achievements towards realising itsvision for the business community and environment of the Hambantota District. With the involvementand encouragement of its members and partners, HDCC looks to the future with renewedcommitment – towards becoming a self-sustainable, increasingly professional organisation that takesup social responsibility and youth and community development, and a pioneer districtchamber contributing towards regional growth through economic development that empowers thelocal business community and brings about prosperity in the future.


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