Dr Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion said through the 300 Enterprise Programme: "the BOI encourages local initiative, in accordance with the President’s Mahinda Chinthana programme to broadbase the economy, boost productivity and expand the nation’s export potential.

"We have approved so far 284 such projects and soon their impact on the local economy will be felt. They have created new job opportunities in outlying areas uplifting the rural community."

One of the most successful programmes currently undertaken by the BOI is the 300 Enterprise Programme (Nipayun Sri Lanka), which is part of the Mahinda Chinthana programme of the Government.

The 300 Enterprise Programme was launched on January 24, 2008 and its impact on the population living in outlying areas has been considerable.

The objective of this programme is to establish one project in each one of the 300 Divisional Secretariats located outside the Colombo and Gampaha areas. Market forces determine that investment makes its way to the more economically developed parts of the country in the Western Province. The natural trend is for investment to go to areas which have a good infrastructure and skilled workers.

By launching the 300 Enterprise Programme, the Government and the BOI have taken steps to redress to some extent this imbalance by creating new opportunities for masses living in outlying areas.

To date a total of 284 projects have been approved, thus the BOI is very close to achieving the target of 300 enterprises as envisaged in the programme. The total investment is currently estimated at Rs 74,540.2 million and an estimated 67,670 jobs have either been or will be created under the scheme relatively soon.

To make the programme attractive to investors, the BOI formulated a special new regime, where areas earmarked for investment are classified at three levels of difficulty. This was done with the objective of channelling investment into areas where it was most needed. Investors who opt for the most difficult area enjoy greater advantages such as tax holidays than those, which are considered less difficult.

It is interesting to note that of the total of 284 projects approved, a total of 107 went to the most difficult areas against 93 for difficult areas and 84 for non-difficult areas. This says a lot about the spirit of enterprise of the investors.

The chief beneficiaries are the small and medium sized enterprises, established in the rural areas or smaller towns. Through this programme, the BOI has succeeded in creating new opportunities and a more diversified rural economy.