The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (CanCham Sri Lanka) will host a high-level dialogue on ‘Strengthening Collaboration on Women’s Development, Economic Empowerment and Women-Led SMEs’ on 17 June 2026 at CanCham House, Colombo.
The dialogue will feature the participation of Dr. Hina Shah, the Founder of International Centre for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (ICECD), a globally recognised institution that has empowered thousands of women entrepreneurs through entrepreneurship development, livelihood creation, skills enhancement, and economic empowerment initiatives.
Women in Development remains a special area of interest and strategic focus for CanCham Sri Lanka. The Chamber recognises that empowering women and strengthening women-led enterprises are critical to fostering innovation, job creation, poverty reduction, and sustainable economic growth.
The event marks the launch of a new CanCham Sri Lanka initiative aimed at fostering greater collaboration among stakeholders committed to advancing women’s economic participation, entrepreneurship, and the development of women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The dialogue will focus on the following key objectives: Reviewing achievements, challenges, and progress in women’s development and economic empowerment in Sri Lanka; Promoting the growth, sustainability, and competitiveness of women-led SMEs and entrepreneurial ecosystems;
Facilitating networking, knowledge sharing, and collaboration among women entrepreneurs and business leaders from Sri Lanka, India, Canada, and the wider Indo-Pacific region; Building strategic partnerships among the private sector, government institutions, development organisations, financial institutions, and international stakeholders; Exploring opportunities available through the extensive Canadian Chamber network across Canada and the Indo-Pacific region; Identifying priority areas and practical recommendations to strengthen women’s participation in economic development and entrepreneurship and A key outcome of the dialogue will be the initiation of a consultative process to formulate a Five-Year Strategy and Action Plan for Women’s Development, Economic Empowerment and Women-Led SMEs in Sri Lanka.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka (CanCham Sri Lanka) is dedicated to promoting trade, investment, tourism, innovation, and business cooperation between Sri Lanka and Canada. Through its strong partnerships and networks across Canada and the Indo-Pacific region, the Chamber supports initiatives that contribute to sustainable economic growth, entrepreneurship development, and inclusive prosperity.