DevPro and Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) signed a formal partnership on Wednesday, 28th January to collaborate in promoting women’s economic empowerment and inclusion in Sri Lanka.
DevPro builds on 30 years of OXFAMs legacy in Sri Lanka and works towards Inclusive Economic Development leveraging expertise in inclusive and climate-resilient market systems and enterprise development and innovation. DevPro’s work is guided by the core values of gender justice, inclusivity and community-led development. Through its recent projects, DevPro has supported over 270 women-led MSMEs, across agriculture, handloom, and tourism-related value chains in five provinces in Sri Lanka through a mix of interventions combining skills development, enterprise strengthening, market linkages, and gender-sensitive community engagement to improve income, resilience, and economic participation.
WCIC is the first women-only trade chamber in the world, dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs and women-led MSMEs in Sri Lanka through skills-building, business advisory services, networking etc. Among its many initiatives, WCIC’s flagship annual event, “Prathibhabhisheka” – Women’s Entrepreneurs Awards has empowered many women owned and women-led businesses in Sri Lanka to enhance their business resilience and competitiveness through improved governance processes, financial health, market recognition and global expansion.
Through this partnership, both DevPro and WCIC, will leverage their collective expertise, networks and resources to advance women’s economic empowerment and inclusion through projects, capacity building, research and policy advocacy focused on women entrepreneurship development, innovative business models, sustainability certification and credentials, export readiness and market integration and financial literacy and inclusion.
The MoU was signed by Gayani de Alwis, Chairperson of WCIC and Chamindry Saparamadu, Executive Director of DevPro in the presence of senior members of both teams.
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