Sri Lanka has launched a pilot project to replace its 108-year-old business name registration process, allowing sole proprietorships and partnerships to complete registration within five working days.

The Simplified and Unified Business Name Registration (BNR) pilot was launched in Anuradhapura on Tuesday, under the patronage of Deputy Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development Chathuranga Abeysinghe, the Daily Mirror and EconomyNext both reported.

The scheme is being implemented jointly by the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, the non-profit organisation Chrysalis, and provincial councils.

What changes

Sri Lanka’s business name registration framework has been in place since 1918. Under it, applicants had to submit documents including proof of land ownership and obtain approvals from multiple government agencies — a process both filings describe as time-consuming and complicated.

The reform replaces that with a single standardised procedure requiring only basic identity and residency information. Business name registration will also be separated from the process of obtaining other legal licences.

“The main objective of the reform is to reduce administrative barriers for those planning to start a business and for small and medium-scale entrepreneurs, enabling them to enter the formal economy more easily,” Abeysinghe said, as quoted by EconomyNext.

A ministry official told the same outlet: “Entrepreneurs will no longer need complex land ownership documents, as registration will now be based solely on basic identity and residence details to complete approvals within five days.”

Scope of the pilot

The initial phase runs as a three-month pilot across 20 selected Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Central, Northern, North Central and North Western provinces, according to EconomyNext.

Once the pilot has been evaluated, the government intends to extend the unified system island-wide and introduce a digital platform for online registration.

Context

The reform lands on the eve of the 2027 budget, and alongside a broader government push on enterprise formation — the Prime Minister announced on the same day that entrepreneurship and financial literacy will enter the Grade 6 curriculum from 2027. It also follows the Cabinet’s approval of a US$200 million Asian Development Bank loan for MSME sector development reported this week.

Not reported

Neither filing names the 20 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the pilot, or says how they were selected. Neither gives a registration fee, states how long registration currently takes under the 1918 process, or quantifies how many businesses register each year. Neither says when the three-month pilot is expected to conclude, what criteria the evaluation will apply, or when the online platform might be introduced. Nothing explains what role Chrysalis plays or how the programme is funded, and nothing addresses whether the separation of name registration from other licences means businesses still face the same approvals at a later stage.

On the detail split: the filings are complementary rather than overlapping. The Daily Mirror carries the 108-year framing and the land-ownership requirement; EconomyNext alone carries the three-month duration, the 20 divisions, the four provinces, the quoted Deputy Minister and the planned digital platform. Neither account is complete on its own.

Update: a third newsroom, and who attended

Hiru News filed its own Sinhala-language account late on 11 November, and has been added to the sources above. It independently confirms the central facts — the Anuradhapura launch under Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe, the 1918 framework, the land-ownership documents being dropped in favour of basic identity and residence details, the five-day turnaround, the three-month pilot across 20 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Central, Northern, North Central and North Western provinces, and the intention to extend island-wide and add a digital system after evaluation.

Hiru dates the launch to Tuesday 10 November, consistent with the other two filings.

Its addition to the record is the attendance list, which neither of the other filings carries: Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Additional Secretary Anoja Herath, Director of Entrepreneurship Development Susanthi Jayasinghe, Evangeline Sin Clair, Chrysalis head Ashika Gunasena, and senior adviser Padmasiri Gunawardena, alongside provincial and divisional administrative officials.

Hiru still does not name the 20 divisions, give a fee, or explain Chrysalis’s role or the programme’s funding — so the open questions above stand.