Abstract:
Sri Lanka's protracted economic downturn with more profound structural weaknesses in manufacturing, industrialization, entrepreneurial landscape and project governance; sluggish recovery rate, and threatening international political and economic conditions has accentuated the urgent need to revitalize the economy through enhancing the production capabilities of the country through its entrepreneurial possibilities, particularly in nderdeveloped regions such as the Northern Province, which contributes a mere 4% to the national GDP. This conceptual paper investigates the impact of effective project management practices on successful and sustainable entrepreneurial development as a means to revitalize economic growth in post-conflict regions. The study is motivated by persistent issues such as youth migration, narcotic drug abuse, low manufacturing output, and diaspora disinvestment, all of which are compounded by ineffective development planning and political uncertainty. By reviewing national and international literature on project management and entrepreneurship, the paper explores how structured project management approaches, such as the Logical Framework Approach (LFA), Theory of Change (ToC), and stakeholder-driven governance, can facilitate local enterprise development, youth engagement, and diaspora-led innovation. The study uses a theoretical framework grounded in project governance, stakeholder theory, and participatory development, proposing that entrepreneurial outcomes in fragile regions are strongly linked to the quality of project design, stakeholder alignment, and adaptive monitoring. Using a conceptual methodology informed by the Research Onion framework, the paper advocates for a mixed-method future empirical study employing SPSS and thematic analysis. Anticipated findings suggest that project based entrepreneurial strategies can reduce youth emigration, increase local job creation, and build trust among diaspora investors, provided they are managed with transparency, accountability, and community inclusion. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for institutionalizing project management best practices in entrepreneurship programs and calls for stronger integration between political stability, economic development, and local innovation systems in Sri Lanka.
