WIM - The Business & Leadership Night 2026 : Uniting Three Powerful Platforms, Celebrating Sri Lanka's Business Future

Three forces shaping Sri Lanka’s business future — women-led enterprise, responsible workplaces and next-generation leadership, will take centre stage on 9 December 2026, as Women in Management Global (WIM) brings three flagship platforms together for WIM — The Business & Leadership Night 2026.

It will unite the 2nd Women MSME Awards 2026, Respectful Workplace Audit & Certification, and 2nd NextTier Mentorship & Awards 2026 to celebrate achievement, champion better workplaces and recognise the enterprises and leaders shaping Sri Lanka’s business future.

“The world is no longer competing on quantity alone; it is competing on value, innovation, quality, talent and the ability to think beyond borders.

Sri Lanka must move with greater ambition and see itself not merely as a participant in the global economy, but as a nation capable of creating influence within it.

We have the talent, resilience, creativity and resources to compete with the world.

What we need is the courage to think bigger, invest in our people, embrace technology, strengthen our businesses and turn our national strengths into global opportunities.

Sri Lanka must prepare to compete, lead and make its mark — we simply cannot afford to be left behind,” said Dr. Sulochana Segera, Founder/Chairperson, Women in Management (Sri Lanka, Maldives, Canada, United Kingdom, UAE & Malaysia).

Women Entrepreneurs in the Spotlight- Returning following its successful debut, the Women MSME Awards 2026 will recognise women entrepreneurs creating employment, economic value, innovation and social impact across 10 categories.

Nominations are open from 20 September to 20 October 2026 via www.womeninmanagementawards.org.

A New Benchmark for Respectful Workplaces -The Respectful Workplace Audit & Certification will assess organisations against International Finance Corporation (IFC) Respectful Workplace guidelines.

Eligible organisations will receive WIM endorsement and certification in partnership with TLM UK, an Ofqual-recognised awarding body.

Applications close 30 September 2026 via www.wimglobalevents.com, with certification limited to 15 organisations annually.

Each certificate will feature a unique QR code allowing employees, customers and other stakeholders to independently verify its authenticity through the TLM UK Awarding website.

NextTier Mentorship & Awards 2026 -For the second consecutive year, NextTier will select 35 participants for direct access to the experience and perspectives of 12 local and international WIM Global mentors, providing structured mentorship to prepare them for greater leadership responsibilities.

The WIM Leadership Awards Night will also honour three outstanding business leaders whose influence extends beyond their organisations, creating meaningful impact across Sri Lanka’s economy, industries and society.

International Perspectives, Local Impact - Adding an international dimension will be Deena Tissera, Labour Councillor of Aberdeen City Council for Hilton, Woodside & Stockethill; Vice Chairwoman of Aberdeen Central Constituency Labour Party; Advisor to Rt Hon Gordon Brown’s Our Scottish Future, United Kingdom; and a former WIM Top50 Award Winner — UK.

She will be joined by Lushani Kodituwakku, Commercial Due Diligence Expert, United Kingdom and WIM Top50 Global Award Winner 2025.

The three platforms will be guided by experienced business and leadership professionals.

Dr. Nirmal De Silva, Group Director, RNH Ventures, will chair the Respectful Workplace Audit & Certification; Dr. Rohantha Athukorala, Vice Chairman – Asia Pacific, World Rural Tourism Council, will chair the NextTier Mentorship & Awards; and Prashantha Mahadevan, Director, Dazzle (Pvt) Ltd, will chair the Women MSME Awards 2026.

Fazeela Dharamaratne will serve as WIM Leadership Night Event Chair.

The Awards Chairs are Anjali Goonetilake for the Respectful Workplace Awards, Arunnia Vimalendren for the NextTier Leadership Awards, and Dilsha Ruwanpathirana for the Women MSME Awards.