Sri Lanka HSBC, British Council backs students in business

Apr 06, 2011 (LBO) - Sri Lankan students studying at universities, private higher education institutions, vocational and professional bodies can win seed capital to start a business in contest launched by the British Council and HSBC bank. Aspiring students will have to submit a business plan to start enterprises in fashion design, architecture, crafts, tourism, information technology, medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, engineering, agriculture and renewable energy.

There is also an open category. The contest, HSBC Youth Enterprise Awards, is open to students between the ages of 18 to 30.

"…I would encourage young people to make the most of this opportunity by participating and unlocking their potential to reach the pinnacle of success," HSBC's Sri Lanka chief executive Nick Nicolaou said in a statement.

The winners will be mentored by professionals for six months and also given 100,000 rupees in seed capital.

The British Council has other programs in Sri Lanka to help develop entrepreneurship, HSBC said.

IDEATORS – Next Generation Entrepreneurs is a popular reality TV enterprise competition organised by the British Council that has created mass-scale awareness about the importance of entrepreneurship ed