“Also, there is no clear definition for social enterprises in the country’s business registration. The issue is that although social enterprises are there, they are registered as normal business entities.” Sanjeevani Munasinghe, the Head of Programmes at British Council Sri Lanka told Daily News Business.
She was also present at a press conference held at Renuka City Hotel, Colombo yesterday to announce the upcoming international conference on Social Enterprise and Social Finance, organised by Lanka Social Ventures in partnership with the British Council Sri Lanka.
Munasinghe however mentioned that Sri Lanka has seen a substantial growth in social enterprises, established to address social and environmental problems and foster social inclusion, economic integration, sustainable development and entrepreneurship across Sri Lanka.In addition, she said this sector has a higher proportion of female leaders than mainstream businesses.
Munasignhe also stressed the need to raise the public profile of social enterprises and crate awareness on social enterprises and social financing among general public especially among students to better utilize their expertise to find solutions to address pressing issues such as abject poverty of local communities, environmental pollution, and most importantly to create a more conducive environment for local businesses to thrive.