The much-converted Freda Corea award was bagged by Silumina newspaper’s business editor Inoka Perera Bandara in this year’s competition held by the Gamani Corea Foundation, for encouraging small and medium-scale women’s entrepreneurship that contributes to the economic development of Sri Lanka whilst gathering data which is useful to policymakers.
Gamani Corea, the most famous economist in Sri Lanka, was the UNCTAD Secretary General and conducted extensive research on the development of Sri Lanka’s economy.
Inoka has previously won the Gold Award for Career Achievement in the Print Media category at the Top 50 Professional and Career Women Awards Sri Lanka – 2020.
Inoka, having started her career in journalism in 1996 as a journalist for ‘Tharuni’ newspaper went on to become the business editor of Sri Lanka’s largest newspaper company, Lake House’ Silumina Newspaper. She has also won several media excellence awards including the Upali Wijayawardhena Award for Best Feature Writer for Silumina Rasanduna, and is a former student of Holy Family Convent Dehiwala.