E-commerce and trade support to women owned SMEs in Sri Lanka
The E-commerce and Trade Support to WSMEs project, aimed at empowering women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs) in Sri Lanka, was delivered by Globally Cool under the Canadian Trade and Investment Facility for Development (CTIF) program. CTIF is implemented by the consortium of Cowater International and IPAC, with funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC).
The project addressed a significant gap in digital and e-commerce skills among women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka. This gap limited their ability to engage effectively in the digital economy, impacting business growth and economic independence. Bridging this gap was crucial for enabling women entrepreneurs to compete in an increasingly digital marketplace, fostering individual business growth, and enhancing broader economic participation of women in the economy.
This mandate aligns with Sri Lanka's government policies and the Women’s Chamber of Industry and Commerce (WCIC) strategic priorities that emphasize digital technologies for economic growth to support women entrepreneurs in economic independence. The technical assistance included capacity building in e-commerce and digitalization.
Year
Country
Sri LankaType of activity
- Digital Marketing
- Onsite training
Activities
- Conducting a situational assessment: This included analysing current e-commerce practices among women-led SMEs, identifying gaps in digital marketing and export readiness, and mapping WCIC's existing services.
- Developing strategic roadmaps and training curricula: Created an E-commerce and Trade Support Services Roadmap to guide WCIC and designed two comprehensive training curricula focused on Export Readiness and Digital Marketing & E-commerce. Training materials included presentations, video content, and assignments.
- Delivering Training of Trainers (ToT): Conducted multiple in-person workshops to equip 23 women Business Advisors with technical knowledge on export readiness and e-commerce, as well as soft skills for effective training delivery.
- Facilitating pilot training for WSMEs: Organized training sessions for 36 women-led SMEs in export readiness and digital marketing. The sessions were followed by coaching to help participants develop Export Readiness Action Plans and E-commerce Action Plans.
- Recording and distributing training materials: Video recordings of all training modules were made available on the WCIC's website to ensure accessibility for members and trainers.
- Providing follow-up coaching and deliverables: Guided Business Advisors in developing 14 Export Readiness Action Plans and 10 E-commerce Action Plans for participating WSMEs.
- Strengthening sustainability through WCIC Academy: Collaborated with WCIC to integrate these training services as part of their upcoming academy for long-term impact.
Results
- Enhanced WCIC capacity: The roadmap enabled WCIC to expand its services, including a new Academy offering e-commerce and export readiness training.
- Increased WSME knowledge: 36 women entrepreneurs trained as Business Advisors gained practical skills in e-commerce and digital marketing, boosting their market access and online visibility. It is envisaged that these trained Business Advisors will transfer their knowledge to their respective groups. This will create a snowball effect that leads to enhancing the digital literacy and business growth in e-commerce in the region.
- Improved trainer capabilities: The trainers reported a significant boost in confidence, with participants in the ToT program demonstrating improved ability to deliver impactful sessions. The average confidence level rose from 3.78 (moderate) before the workshop to 5.00 (high) afterward.
- Delivered 14 actionable Export Readiness Action Plans and 10 E-commerce Action Plans for participating WSMEs.