Sri Lanka needs a stronger entrepreneurial culture: academics

June 18, 2017 (LBO) - A tendency to look to the government for solutions as well as practical constraints like high interest rates and lack of business skills like marketing, academics who are helping improving management skills in the country said. "When you give so many subsidies people or businesses they start depending on the government and lose their power of control," senior lecturer P N Weerasinge said.

"So it is obvious a government will have the power of control.

This has to change and to do that the country should have more entrepreneurs.

Udayanga said prospective entrepreneurs also faced practical difficulties like tight regulations and difficulties in getting credit.

"A person who goes to bank to borrow a lone to start a business will end up in working in an office or a factory," Udayanga said.

"Why? Because local banks require many documents and guarantors to take a loan which discourage anyone."

He said in the UK or Singapore it was much easier to get business credit.

Sri Lanka also does not have venture capital funding unlike in countries like the US, they said.

Though it has started in a small way, it is yet to pick up they said. Sri Lanka has about half a million of small and medium businesses