Global accolade for Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce

First Regional Chamber to win World Chambers Congress Award

By Nizla Naizer

Taking regional empowerment to the international arena, the Hambantota District Chamber of Commerce (HDCC) along with its partners the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) was adjudged the winners of the Best Networking Project at the World Chamber Congress (WCC) held in Kuala Lumpur last weekend.
This is the first time that a regional chamber has won the prestigious WCC award.
Speaking to The Bottom Line, HDCC Managing Director Azmi Thassim said that he was delighted with the victory

HDCC Director General Azmi Thassim (L) with a representative from the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce at the World Chamber Congress

“This has been such an encouraging victory. We have been working since 2005 with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce in a long-term partnership to revive the economy of the District through technical assistance, shared experiences, tourism promotion, youth development and capacity building. Hambantota is seeing rapid development in the last few years with the new harbour and airport and the development has been facilitated by the support and advice provided by this partnership.”
The HDCC is the oldest regional chamber in the country having begun as an association in 1990 and incorporated in 1993. The Greater Manchester Chamber approached them after the devastation of the tsunami in 2005 with the intention of providing a long term opportunity to revive the District. They entered into a three year contract which was extended for a further three years in 2008. Through their initiatives many businesses and budding entrepreneurs in the area have found their way again after the tsunami took away their livelihoods.
“It’s very hard to recruit and retain staff in the regional chambers because many of our employees leave for greener pastures in Colombo. But through this partnership where there is constant communication between Manchester and Hambantota through Skype and training and exchange programmes, our staff has found it beneficial to stay.” 
The Future
Thassim is confident that the WCC award win will be an encouragement to other regional chambers in Sri Lanka. “We intend to work harder to bring about prosperity and economic empowerment to the people of Hambantota. At the same time, we would like to share our model with other Chambers across the country.”
Explaining that the Chambers in the North and East especially can benefit from such international partnerships he said that this would contribute towards the rehabilitation of the country.
This is the second time Sri Lanka has emerged victorious in biennial international competition that brings together close to 50 Chambers from over 33 countries across the world. Previously, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry won it in 2007 for the Back to Business, post tsunami project under the Best Unconventional Project.
The 2009 World Chambers Competition provides awards under various categories which include Best Networking Project, Best Unconventional Project, Best International Project, Best Small Business Project and Best Project from a Chamber in a Developing Country.