Small & Medium Enterprise Development (SMED) | Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL)

SMED – Small and Medium Enterprise Developers is a project of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) in collaboration with the Friedrich-Naumann Foundation (FNF) of Germany. This project was established in 1989 with a view to developing and promoting the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector in the country.

Vision

SMED will be a ‘Centre of Excellence’, the leading service provider, facilitator and the voice of Sri Lanka’s Small and Medium Enterprise sector.

Mission

To promote and foster business enterprises to be professional, ethical, competitive as well as responsible towards society and the environment, thereby contributing towards balanced and sustainable socio economic development of the nation.

Objectives

SMED was conceived with the objective of developing and promoting a free market economy by improving the efficiency and competitiveness of individual Small and Medium Enterprises, as well as strengthening and empowering organizations which represent the SMEs across all sectors in the country. These objectives are to be achieved through:

Acceleration of industrial and economic development
Creating employment and income generating opportunities
Enhancing export capabilities
Improving managerial and marketing capabilities of SMEs
Improving employee work safety
Improving quality and productivity
Protecting the environment

Challenge and Opportunity

In today’s globalized economy, the challenges faced by businesses are enormous. SMEs are unable to stay as mere suppliers but have to come out of the cocoon and explore opportunities in the global scenario. They should be empowered to deliver appropriate solutions to the needs of the dynamic markets. Business competitiveness has shifted from mass production with size and scale based advantages, to “lean production” where responsiveness, speed and constant re-invention reign supreme. In such a competitive environment SMEs are not on a comfortable footing when compared to large-scale enterprises. Task of the SMED is to assist SME industrialists to rise competitively through technical, managerial and marketing efficiency.

Functions and Services of SMED since 1989

Industrial engineering and technology transfer services
Energy and environmental services
Enterprise development services
Agribusiness development services
Public private partnership for SME promotions and market linkage services
SME policy, research and advocacy services