Srilanka, Sept. 17 -- For thirty years, Sri Lanka's apparel industry has quietly powered the country's export economy accounting for roughly 40% of merchandise export revenue and employing 300,000 to 350,000 people. That scale wasn't accidental. It was built through deliberate government-industry planning dating back to the early 1990s.
The first transformation, anchored by the 200 Garment Factories Programme, pushed manufacturing beyond Colombo, created jobs in rural communities, and built the industrial base the sector still runs on today. It worked because government and industry moved together, not apart.
Now the industry is asking for a repeat but for a very different set of problems.
Sri Lanka's Government has launched an ambitious...