Enterprise: Nekmo Lanka

Proprietor: S.H.C. Dharmapriya           

Industry: Automotive/ Import Trading of Motorcycle Spare Parts & Accessories

Year it was founded: 2001

Location: Makola, Kiribathgoda

Driven by customer demand, S.H.C. Dharmapriya has grown his motorcycle spare parts business from strength to strength. Nemko Lanka imports spare parts from countries like Thailand, India and they even have motorcycle batteries manufactured in China under their brand name. Read more about their business journey.

Tell us how Nekmo Lanka came into being?

Nekmo Lanka was founded in 2001. Initially, spare parts were purchased from Panchikawatta in bulk and distributed to the outstation buyers mainly on credit terms. As the demand for motorcycle spare parts has been consistently rising, the main focus of the business has been centered on such spares. We started our delivery services by motorcycle and then a used motor van was purchased to deliver more stock. 

Witnessing the rapid increase in demand, I decided on direct imports and a decision was taken to visit Thailand and bring stock directly from them. In the initial visit, I was able to visit a few suppliers and purchase directly. As time passed, further visits to India and China were made to expand our supplier base and these efforts were solely carried out by myself. In order to expand the supply, few sales staff were employed who were provided with motorcycles and today we have an employee force of 21 people.

How does your business differentiate itself in the industry?

We have the ability of supplying any given motorcycle spare parts (both Indian and Japanese) to clients, irrespective of the make of the model. Further, it is a pleasure to state that motorcycle batteries are manufactured in China under our brand name of Nemko Lanka and the same are directly imported by us. Further we have been able to retain a long-standing client base as a result of tireless efforts taken to maintain the supply chain to meet the increasing demand.

What are some of the challenges you face?

Recent restrictions imposed on imports and the foreign currency shortage impact on importation have been the major business challenge so far and somehow we have been able to manage the same with the great support extended by the Commercial Bank during the crisis.

What is the next big thing on your business agenda?

In this way, we will continue to improve and expand our business, and I hope to hand over this business to the next generation as a strong institution.

How has Commercial Bank helped your business?

Nekmo Lanka has not opened any account other than the account with the Commercial Bank for this company since its inception, and we can never forget the tremendous support given to us by the Commercial Bank so far, and we hope that the support of the Commercial Bank will be extended in the future too.

And lastly, what advice would you give to a new entrepreneur?

Anyone can start this type of business with hard work, dedication, effort, skill, good management and appropriate knowledge from the right people.

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