LocationsHow the Industrial Services Bureau Is Redefining Economic Empowerment for Victim-Survivors of SGBV
Beyond Business
November 3, 2025
Mr. Hewarathna, Assistant Director of Enterprise Development at ISB
UNDP Sri Lanka
When the Industrial Services Bureau (ISB) took on the task of training the staff working at Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) shelters, they weren’t just delivering business skills. Instead, they were taking on the difficult task of creating a new avenue for victim-survivors of SGBV by helping them rebuild their lives, reclaim their agency, and imagine a future beyond violence.
ISB’s intervention in supporting victim-survivors to establish their own businesses is one component of a broader initiative titled ‘Ensuring Justice for Victim-Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Sri Lanka’, funded by the Government of Canada and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka in partnership with UNFPA in Sri Lanka. Under this project, six shelters from across the island were selected to participate, representing a diverse range of contexts and communities. These shelters became pilot sites for strengthening economic empowerment initiatives, providing a safe space where victim-survivors could gain the skills, confidence, and resources needed to rebuild their livelihoods.
UNDP Sri Lanka
When the ISB joined the project to provide its expertise in enterprise development, it recognised that direct engagement with vulnerable individuals could present challenges. Therefore, the team from ISB focused on equipping shelter staff who were experienced social workers with established relationships and a deep understanding of the victim-survivors through tailored training and capacity-building. Through this approach, shelter staff were empowered to pass on business and entrepreneurship skills to victim-survivors under the supervision of the ISB. In addition, beneficiaries received seed grants through the broader project, enabling them to apply their new skills and launch small businesses to build sustainable livelihoods.
Building on its prior experience working with vulnerable and socially isolated women, including those with limited support systems, the ISB has recognised that enabling women to secure a stable income is key to overcoming these challenges. For instance, the ISB has supported war widows by establishing market linkages to strengthen their economic opportunities. Drawing on this, the ISB has also collaborated with support organisations such as the Enterprise Development Authority and Vidatha to advance these initiatives and strengthen sustainable support systems.
For Mr. Hewarathna, Assistant Director of Enterprise Development at ISB, this was far more than just another enterprise development project. “Together with the ISB team, we did everything we could to respond to the different needs of the women we serve,” he explained. “When some victim-survivors couldn’t attend sessions run by shelter staff, we found simple but meaningful solutions by bringing in mattresses and adapting the training space so mothers could care for their children and still take part without any obstacles.”
UNDP Sri Lanka
Likewise, they were flexible in their approach. Initially, the plan focused on delivering standard training. However, recognising the diverse needs of each shelter based on the age and ability of the beneficiaries, the team also developed customised plans tailored to the specific circumstances of the residents.
One notable example was the training conducted at AKASA, where it was recognised that shelter staff would need to take a more active role in managing the business to accommodate the specific support needs of residents with disabilities. On the other hand, the Women’s Development Centre hosted young girls and children, which required adapting the training content and methods to be more age-appropriate and sensitive to their specific circumstances.
ISB’s training approach placed the needs of the women at the very centre. The shelter staff, in turn, adopted and applied these participatory methods in their own sessions, ensuring that each woman felt heard and supported. While the social workers approached the business planning training from an empathetic perspective, ISB focused on preparing the women to understand the practical realities of the business world. “We knew we had to be the ‘tough’ side of the training,” Mr. Hewarathna shared. “It was our job to help them face the challenges of the outside world, to build their confidence so they wouldn’t be discouraged when things got difficult.”
UNDP Sri Lanka
This approach was a resounding success. By the end of the training sessions, the women were confidently role-playing various practical scenarios: managing transactions in a shop, depositing money at a bank, or visiting government offices to obtain permits. They were introduced to budgeting strategies, like the envelope method, and many who had once felt intimidated to approach banks or government offices found strength and courage in each other. Together, they took their first steps into spaces they had once feared, discovering strength and solidarity along the way.
ISB’s intervention led not only to major changes but also to the small, meaningful shifts that matter the most. One woman who had not spoken a word to anyone when she first arrived eventually led the group in role plays during training sessions. “Moments like that remind us why we do this,” Mr. Hewarathna said. “Seeing someone go from silence to standing up and guiding others - that’s real impact.”
UNDP Sri Lanka
Through this innovative partnership, ISB has demonstrated that economic empowerment for victim-survivors of SGBV can be more than a pathway of earning income – it is about reclaiming dignity, finding agency, and daring to hope again. “When we give women the skills and the space to stand on their own feet, we’re not just helping them survive, we’re helping them lead,” Mr. Hewarathna said proudly.
By equipping shelter staff with the tools to deliver practical, relevant, and compassionate business skills training, ISB has helped open new doors that many women once thought were closed forever. Today, these women are not only stepping into shops and banks with confidence, but they are taking charge of their own paths forward. From small but powerful acts of confidence to launching microenterprises, these women are now better positioned to imagine and create a future beyond violence.
One small business, one brave choice, one new dream at a time, they are proving that their past does not define them; their courage does.