Industries Ministry to launch nationwide SME incubator campaign with Rs. 1 bn R&D

The Ministry of Industries is gearing up to launch a nationwide SME incubator system campaign backed by the Rs. 1 billion allocation dedicated for research and development (R&D) commercialisation under the government’s 2025 budget.

The programmes will be initially implemented through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, according to National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA) Chairman Lakshman Abeysekera, who stated that a “People’s Partnership” element would be incorporated in later stages.

“Our aim is to support the commercialisation of innovation. We will be collaborating with universities and private companies to launch this programme. This will be one of our foundations for the year,” Abeysekera said. 

He shared the update while addressing a post-budget forum organised by the Institute of Certified Management Accountants (CMA) of Sri Lanka last week.

In addition to the incubator campaign, the Ministry of Industries has outlined several other comprehensive strategies for SME development, including the establishment of a dedicated SME Development Bank alongside the initiation of the National Credit Guarantee Institution (NCGI). 

Supported by the Asian Development Bank, the NCGI will provide partial credit guarantees on loans to SMEs via participating financial institutions. The institution will also provide services such as underwriting guarantees, managing risks through risk-based pricing to ensure guaranteed recovery operations.

These financial entities are designed to facilitate collateral-free lending to facilitate the much needed financial support to Small and Medium Enterprises, according to Abeysekera.

“Several banks have come on board to participate in this initiative. It will be further supported by the streamlined ecosystem created at the Ministry of Industries.” Abeysekera asserted.

 (NR)