The Sri Lanka Agripreneurs’ Forum (SLAF) recently held the Agripreneur Conference 2023, themed “Empowering Agripreneurs for a World of Abundance” at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research & Training Institute (HARTI) in Colombo. This conference aimed to bring all stakeholders of agribusiness into one common platform to foster innovation and drive progressive change.

The conference, which was held in collaboration with Hatton National Bank (HNB) and the MBA Alumni Association of the University of Colombo (MBAAA) under the official endorsement of the Ministry of Agriculture saw over 150 key stakeholders in the agribusiness domain come together to address present-day challenges and seize new opportunities in the sector.

Mr. Rizvi Zaheed, Chairman of SLAF, welcomed the participants and highlighted the timely need to conduct such a conference targeting agripreneurs to uplift their skillsets and provide them with insights that could spark progressive action.

The keynote address for the event was delivered by Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Agriculture, who stressed the need to develop a comprehensive agri-policy that does not change with the minister and appreciated the efforts by SLAF to uplift the agribusiness sector through the various initiatives done in sync with the government.

The conference was divided into four sessions - Agri-Financing, Agri-Marketing, Agri-Tech, and Agri-Policy Facilitation - each featuring keynote speeches and panel discussions.

For the Agri-Financing Session, Mr. Rajendra Theagarajah, Former Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, delivered a keynote speech on "The Secrets to Securing Loans, Grants, and Investments." This was followed by a panel discussion on "Opportunities Available in Agri-Financing and How to Access Them," with panelists including Mr. Theagarajah; Mr. Sarada de Silva, Founder Chairman of the Spice Council of Sri Lanka; and Dr. Niluka Amarasinghe, Head of SME Products and Partnerships of Hatton National Bank. The session was moderated by Mr. Ruwin Mapa, Chief Executive Officer of SLAF.

The first session was followed by the Morning Tea where participants received an opportunity to interact with each other to improve their networks.

The Agri-Tech Session featured a keynote address by Mr. Jeevan Gnanam, Co-Founder of SpectrifyAI, on "How to Succeed as an Agripreneur in the Digital Age." This was followed by a panel discussion on "Utilizing Agri-Tech to Make Your Agribusiness More Efficient," with panelists including Mr. Gnanam; Mr. Heminda Jayaweera, Co-Founder of Thuru; and Mr. Prashanth Premkumar, Chief Executive Officer of Agrithmics. The session was moderated by Dr. Selvanathan Anojan, Hony. Secretary of SLAF.

This was followed by Lunch which itself was followed by the Agri-Marketing Session.

During the Agri-Marketing Session, Mr. Charaka Perera, General Manager - Marketing of Mobitel, delivered a keynote speech on "The  Ingredients to a Good Marketing Strategy." This was followed by a panel discussion on "Reaching New Markets and Expanding Your Customer Base," with panelists including Mr. Perera; Ms. Dawn Austin, Managing Director of Nidro Supply; and Mr. Nalin Karunaratne, Chief Executive Officer of Ceylon Biscuits Limited. The session was moderated by Mr. Rizvi Zaheed, Chairman of SLAF.

For the Agri-Policy Session, Prof. Buddhi Marambe, Committee Member of the National Agriculture Policy Committee, delivered a keynote speech on "The Role of Policies in Shaping Agribusinesses." This was followed by a panel discussion on "Policy Facilitation for a Better Agribusiness Sector, with panelists including Prof. Marambe; Prof. Sarath Kodithuwakku, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Peradeniya; and Dr. Lionel Weerakoon, Former Scientist at the Ministry of Agriculture. The session was moderated by Mr. Milinda Rajapakse, Director of the Media Centre for National Development.

The Agri-Policy session was followed by the evening tea break and the networking session which marked the conclusion of the conference.

Through the programme the participants gained a whole plethora of insights regarding the world of Agri-businesses and the conference served as a platform to facilitate action. The participants got to engage in the exciting QnA sessions and had the opportunity to network with stakeholders across various calibers attached to the Agribusiness Sector.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Ruwin Mapa, CEO of SLAF stated that SLAF is deeply committed to uplifting Sri Lankan Agribusiness through its various initiatives and that such events are to be expected even in the future. It was also highlighted that all stakeholders of the sector should unite together under the umbrella of SLAF in order to catalyze this change and he urged all Agri-related stakeholders to join hands with SLAF to achieve this common objective.