As evidence suggests, despite a large number of start-ups launch only about a half of all businesses survive five years or longer. Therefore, supporting start-up businesses in the early years of growth is critical. The ‘Business incubation’ is one such business support concept that has gained popularity as an economic development mechanism, as it accelerates business growth and success and decreases the likelihood of business failure.

The Incubation Centre was first established in 2017 as the Entrepreneurial Centre for Venturing and Research (ECVR), attached to the Department of Commerce and Financial Management. In 2021, under the AHEAD project of FCMS (Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies), the ECVR has reformed and expanded to serve the University as well as national entrepreneurship needs under the new name: Central Business Incubator (CBI) with the purpose ‘to serve the national need for research and consultancy services in entrepreneurship’.

The mission of the CBI is to support all future entrepreneurial venture-building activities of the country, innovation, and strengthen the university-industry collaborations. By fulfilling this mission, the centre contributes to job creation, improves innovation and employability of graduates, enhances the economic health of the country, and enriches the quality of life in the community.

OBJECTIVES OF THE CBI

The CBI encourages and supports the establishment and growth of start-ups of undergraduates and SME entrepreneurs in the country by aligning with the following objectives.

• To establish entrepreneurial thinking among undergraduates
• To encourage self and corporate entrepreneurship
• To facilitate students’ career development in entrepreneurship by establishing networks with corporate entrepreneurs
• To promote innovation and new product development
• To facilitate and to conduct entrepreneurship research
• To contribute to the economic development of the country

Accordingly, the following activities are carried out by the National Entrepreneurial Incubation Centre.

ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE CBI

• Organizing events/programs/workshops to foster entrepreneurial intention and action among undergraduates.

• Building student interaction with entrepreneurs and corporate entrepreneurs.

• Commercialization of new products developed by undergraduates.

• Arranging community impact and capacity-building initiatives.

• Organizing community-level programs to educate entrepreneurship.

• Undertaking and publishing continuous entrepreneurship research.

• Offering consultancy service to large, medium, and small-scale entrepreneurs.

• Developing a database of large, medium, and small-scale entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka.