Abstract:
While literature on peacebuilding and recbnciliation emphasizes the need for
stakeholders at all levels of society to be engaged in peace and reconciliation for peace
to be sustainable, no study can be found on how the development of business linkages
contributes to reconciliation for peace in post-conflict areas. This paper examines the
nature of business linkages and the role played by business linkages among microentrepreneurs
and their contribution to reconciliation. It also examines the development
of business and social linkages among entrepreneurs from the North and the East of Sri
Lanka and their first excursions into the rest of the country. The case study method is
used to study two projects, one implemented in the Ampara district, and the other
currently being implemented in the five districts of the Northern Province. Findings
from the East have validated the hypothesis that through a group approach,
entrepreneurs learn and profit from the experiences of their counterparts.
