Shanika Prashanthika

My husband and I have extensive experiences working as a Technician in the Garment industry. When I moved to Siyambalanduwa after marriage, I wanted to continue my career in tailoring but to my disappointment, there weren’t many apparel factories that offered job vacancies that met my desires and needs. This is what gave me the impetus, the drive, and the urge to start something on our own.

My interest in dressmaking started at a very young age. In 2015, I ventured back into dressmaking moving into self-employment. With just two sewing machines, I began taking orders. My husband joined in later and we set up a small production unit with the purpose of scaling up our business. During this time, the MJF Foundation recognised me as one of the small business owners with a capacity to grow. They asked me what I needed the most to scale up the production in my factory. As a result, I received a financial grant to purchase a cutter machine. This improved the efficiency of our production.

Through the years, we have been able to expand into new markets, generate more profits, introduce new designs to our collection and provide employment to ten women in 10 women in the surrounding villages. We are grateful for MJF’s Small Entrepreneur Programme for trusting the potential of people and extending its support to bolster businesses. My husband and I have been running this garment factory for almost 5 years now. We design Innerwear for both men and women, night shorts, skinnies and t-shirts on our brand - Bro & Sis. Today we supply our clothes to 4 Provinces in Sri Lanka, including our own boutique in Siyambalanduwa.

"Through the years, we have been able to expand into new markets, generate more profits,"