Sri Lanka Opens ‘ViYASA’ National Business Facilitation Centre to Clear Bottlenecks for Investors
Sri Lanka has launched the ‘ViYASA’ National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) in Colombo, establishing a central mechanism intended to help investors and entrepreneurs overcome administrative and regulatory obstacles more efficiently, while supporting the country’s broader ambitions for industrial expansion, business development and economic transformation.
The centre was officially inaugurated on 22 September 2026 under the Presidential Secretariat, with the initiative designed to improve coordination between businesses and government institutions whose approvals, services and decisions are frequently required when enterprises are established, expanded or operated.
Located at Building C-80, Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 7, the NBFC is headed by Seevali Arukgoda, Senior Additional Secretary to the President. Its creation represents an important institutional response to a concern that has affected investors and local entrepreneurs for many years: the difficulty of navigating several public agencies when a single business issue involves land, approvals, finance, customs, regulation or other administrative requirements.
A single point of contact for business-related obstacles
Businesses often depend on a sequence of decisions from different government bodies, and delays can arise when responsibilities are divided between agencies or when documents must be submitted repeatedly through separate channels. In such circumstances, even commercially viable projects may lose momentum, while prospective investors may reassess their plans if the process becomes uncertain or excessively time-consuming.
The ViYASA centre has been established to address this problem by coordinating with relevant government institutions and helping businesses obtain practical solutions to issues encountered during the establishment and operation of enterprises.
According to reports by Newswire, The Morning and Hiru News, the centre is intended to remove administrative and regulatory bottlenecks, expedite approval processes and strengthen the overall business environment. Rather than functioning merely as another office through which applications are passed, the NBFC has been presented as a central coordination mechanism capable of bringing together the institutions required to resolve a business concern.
The initiative is therefore significant not only because of its physical location in Colombo, but also because of the institutional responsibility assigned to it. By working across administrative boundaries, the centre has the potential to make government services more coherent, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises that may not have dedicated legal, regulatory or public-sector liaison teams.
Remote submissions reduce the need for repeated visits
One of the most practical features announced at the launch is the ability for businesses to submit their issues and supporting documents remotely. Entrepreneurs will not necessarily be required to visit the centre in person before assistance can begin, as the NBFC will be able to receive information online and coordinate with the relevant agencies on behalf of the business.
The official website, nbfc.presidentsoffice.gov.lk, was launched during the inauguration ceremony. Through this digital channel, businesses can communicate their concerns and provide the documents required for the centre to assess and refer each matter.
This online facility is particularly relevant to entrepreneurs operating outside Colombo, where travel to multiple government offices can involve considerable time and expense. It may also prove valuable to Sri Lankan entrepreneurs living overseas who are assessing investment or commercial opportunities in the country and require an initial point of contact before travelling to Sri Lanka.
The remote-submission model does not remove the need for businesses to meet legal, technical or regulatory requirements. Instead, it is intended to make the process more navigable by ensuring that a business concern can be directed towards the correct institutions without requiring the entrepreneur to independently identify and approach every relevant office.
Supporting investment, industry and enterprise development
At the inauguration, the centre was described as part of Sri Lanka’s effort to improve investor confidence and accelerate industrial growth. Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunneththi, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando, and Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake participated in the opening proceedings, according to the reported coverage.
The concerns addressed by the centre include several areas that can influence the viability and timing of investment projects. Land acquisition and land clearance were identified as important challenges, particularly where property is controlled by different institutions, legal questions remain unresolved or a lengthy sequence of approvals is required.
Access to finance and customs-related procedures were also highlighted as matters requiring more efficient facilitation. For businesses, the ability to obtain clear information and coordinated assistance can be as important as the formal availability of incentives, because uncertainty at the early stages of a project can affect financing, procurement, employment and export planning.
The NBFC is expected to refer unresolved legal or policy matters to its National Operations Committee, together with recommendations for government action. This escalation mechanism could become instrumental where an individual business complaint reveals a wider regulatory weakness that cannot be resolved through routine administrative intervention.
The emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprises and export development is also important. Smaller firms frequently operate with limited administrative capacity, and a transparent system for submitting issues and tracking responses could help them spend more time developing products, serving customers and creating employment rather than repeatedly following up with disconnected offices.
Relevance to Sri Lankan entrepreneurs overseas
For Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and other countries, the launch of ViYASA provides a potentially useful entry point for exploring business activity in Sri Lanka. Overseas Sri Lankan professionals and business owners may possess capital, technical expertise, market connections or sector knowledge that could contribute to new enterprises and partnerships at home.
A central facilitation service may reduce one of the initial uncertainties associated with such activity: determining where a business-related concern should be directed. Although investors will still need professional advice and must comply with Sri Lankan law, the availability of a government-backed coordination centre can provide a clearer starting point for questions involving approvals, institutional responsibilities and the progression of a proposal.
For the global Sri Lankan community, the centre may therefore be viewed as part of a wider effort to create more accessible channels between public institutions and people seeking to contribute to the country’s economic future. Its success will depend on the speed, transparency and consistency with which cases are handled, as well as the quality of communication maintained with applicants.
The launch of ViYASA is a positive development because it recognises that business facilitation requires more than promotional messaging. It requires practical systems through which entrepreneurs can submit concerns, receive guidance and obtain coordinated responses. If the centre delivers effectively on that mandate, it could help transform the experience of engaging with government from a fragmented administrative exercise into a more structured and service-oriented process.
Sri Lanka’s new National Business Facilitation Centre consequently carries considerable potential. By combining a physical coordination hub in Colombo with a remote submission platform, ViYASA offers a modern framework for supporting investors, strengthening local enterprise and encouraging Sri Lankans abroad to consider constructive commercial engagement with the country.
This article was written based on the source https://www.newswire.lk/2026/09/22/viyasa-national-business-facilitation-centre-launched/, kindly email us at info@eLanka.com.au if any information needs to be corrected.
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