Nucleus Entrepreneur Exchange: sustainable peace building through economic and social integration

1. Nucleus Entrepreneur Exchange: sustainable peace building through economic and social integration Implemented by the Nucleus Foundation Supported by FLICT (Facilitating Local Initiatives for Conflict Transformation) The Nucleus Foundation designs and executes development projects. It is a not for profit company registered under the Companies Act 7 of 2007 (Reg No. GA2001)

2. Background • The Nucleus Entrepreneur Foundation (NEF) was initiated in July 2007 • An exit strategy of GTZ for sustaining the interventions of the project • National professional staff from GTZ are seconded to NEF • Present activities of NEF include: • Project design, planning and implementation • Monitoring and evaluation systems • Training, consulting, and technology transfer • Studies and surveys • Entrepreneurship development and enterprise promotion

3. What is Nucleus? Nucleus = A working group of micro, small or medium entrepreneurs of the same sector facilitated by a Counsellor A 100% bottom up approach for enterprise and livelihood development By now the Nucleus Approach has been used by 6,000 entrepreneurs 17 districts to provide demand driven services to SMEs and livelihood groups.

4. Nucleus advantages for SMEs The Nucleus Approach works because: • Entrepreneurs to share and exchange ideas and experiences • It creates a support network among peers • It creates an interest group to carry out lobby and advocacy functions • It helps organise demand for services and negotiate better terms for those services • Fosters inter regional and inter ethnic business linkages Entrepreneurs working together to promote their enterprises develop business and social linkages

5. Rationale for Entrepreneur Exchange Conflict due to Economic, Social & Political marginalization • Bringing together ethnically segregated groups to: • exchange ideas and experiences with each other • undertake joint activities • establish a real, meaningful, sustainable communication • and exchange process Resulting in Development of economic, social and political relationships between ethnic groups

6. Problems identified • Entrepreneurs are isolated in their enterprises • Hold an element of mistrust towards those of other communities and ethnic groups • They lack access to resources • Are unaware of the opportunities available to them • Entrepreneurs do not have an opportunity to network and learn from one another • There is an element of mistrust between people from the conflict affected areas and those in the rest of the country • Entrepreneur support organisations are ethnically and geographically isolated from each other • There were instances of pressure from the armed groups (obtaining ransom, demanding hartals etc) resulting in adverse consequences for the business environment

7. Approach Economic, Social & Political Interaction & Integration • Creating Inter ethnic business linkages between • Entrepreneurs in Ampara • Entrepreneurs in Ampara and other district • Increasing networking through • cross visits with entrepreneurs of other regions • experience sharing and idea exchanging events • participation in peace building activities • participation in motivation programs • participation in business development activities • National and regional media coverage • The learning experiences of the program is shared and disseminated

8. Approach illustrated … The Tamil printer gets his graphic design done by the Sinhala printer from Kandy which costs him less than sending it to Colombo Economic When the welder from Ampara wants to bring his sister to the hospital in Kandy he comes and stays with his colleague in Kandy Social The Sinhala, Tamil & Muslim printers form a regional association to lobby for better prices for their supplies Political

9. Nucleus Activities Group functioning economically successfully Business counseling Scattered individual entrepreneurs Group formation – initial trust building Leading to Influential socio political lobby group in the region Networking Lose networks of homogeneous relationships Workshops Groups have effective social relationships Training • Expected outputs/ impacts • business promotion • peace building • social relationships • business linkages • etc Isolated entrepreneurs • Baseline info collection • Develop indicators • Relationship mapping • Historical context Monitor process – meetings, activities, treatments Measure impacts/ outputs E E E E E Counsellor E E E E Conceptual framework

10. Activities – Cross visits

11. Activities – Training programs

12. Activities – Networking

13. Activities - Workshops

14. Activities - Peace building events

15. Nucleus Entrepreneur Exchange … Entrepreneurs working in ethnically isolated communities have little empathy for other communities. When persons of such communities are exposed to the Nucleus approach where they exchange ideas and experiences and learn from each other they develop not only business linkages but also develop relationships that cut across ethnic lines, and while increasing incomes they also lead to more economic and social integration and exchanges between the communities contributing to peace building in a sustainable manner.

16. Contact us at… Colombo: • 160/ 15 Poorwarama Road, Kirullapone, Col 05 Tel. 0117 204218 Fax. 0112 768 913 Kandy: • 496/11 Piachaud Gardens, Kandy. Tel. 0777 806329 Galle: • Ground Floor, 139 Colombo Road, Kaluwella Tel. 0772 243835 Ampara: • 538/1 Main Street, Nintavur, Ampara Tel. 0777 005816 Anuradhapura: • C/o ADCCIA 334/110 E 1, Main Street Anuradhapura Tel. 025 4580770 Mannar • 560 Uppukkulam Mannar Tel 023 225 0135 www.nucleus.lk 0773 622222 info@nucleus.lk