EmpowerHerBiz - Enhancing the Business Performance of Women-led Craft SMEs through Real-time KPI Tracking and Visualisation

Abstract

"Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are important in increasing global economic growth, innovation and job opportunities. SMEs in Sri Lanka contribute significantly to the country's GDP and play an important role in poverty reduction as well as inclusive economic growth. Craft is one of the SME sectors recognised as a major economic and business force in developing countries as those SMEs can provide employment opportunities even in rural areas while helping in economic growth and environmental conservation. Furthermore, Sri Lanka is a tourist destination and most tourists are interested in seeking local handmade products. As for the craft industry, women are more involved in craft businesses than men. Despite their potential to contribute to the country's economy, SMEs face significant growth and survival challenges, resulting in a very high business failure rate. This happens because most SMEs do not closely monitor their businesses and pay attention to their strengths and weaknesses. However, SMEs must monitor their business performance for success in a continuously changing environment. This concern is affecting the female-led craft SMEs as well. This leads to addressing the absence of a comprehensive platform that can accommodate the unique needs of female-led craft SME owners to monitor and track their business performance. This project aims to provide a Key Performance Indicator-based business monitoring platform for female craft SME owners to track and monitor their business performance and make informed decisions to prevent business failures. The solution will provide an environment to set business goals, track business expenses, monitor raw materials, create budget plans and a customised dashboard to effectively monitor businesses."