The Industrial Development Board (IDB), operating under the Ministry of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, has opened applications for the ‘i5 | FIVE Industry Excellence Journey & Awards 2026’ to recognize and promote excellence in Sri Lanka’s manufacturing sector.
The initiative aims to boost productivity, innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability among local manufacturers, helping enterprises prepare for the Industry 5.0 era by combining technological advancement, human capabilities, resilience, and sustainable growth. Small, medium and large-scale manufacturing enterprises registered in any district of Sri Lanka with at least three years of active operations are eligible to apply free of charge, whereas micro-scale enterprises are excluded.
Evaluations will be conducted across three main pillars Enterprise Excellence, Industry Excellence, and Transformation Capability covering 21 assessment areas to present a total of 69 awards. The assessment process includes examining financial records, employee numbers, and conducting site inspections of manufacturing premises. To share practical knowledge, case studies and videos documenting award winners will be produced.
Online applications must be submitted at www.ifive.idb.lk by 4:00 p.m. on November 9, 2026, followed by delivering a printed, signed copy with supporting evidence to the Director of the Marketing Division at the IDB in Katubedda, Moratuwa.
The national initiative is supported by CBL Group as Principal Sponsor, Commercial Bank as Official Banking Partner, the Postgraduate Institute of Management (PIM) as Knowledge Partner, and Dialog Enterprise as Official Digital Transformation Partner. It aligns with the IDB’s ‘iFive Strategy 2026’, which aims to increase the manufacturing sector’s contribution to GDP to 20 percent and raise merchandise export earnings to USD 25 billion by 2030. (Newswire)