Development aid is increasingly being oriented towards supporting the private sector, as the ‘engine of growth.’ Enterprise creation and support is a cornerstone of this policy. Based on 60 qualitative interviews and an interpretative, ethnographic approach, this study is an attempt to understand the entrepreneurial cultures within which micro-entrepreneurs are located in five regions of Sri Lanka in terms of urban-rural differentiation, gender, ethnicity, religion, income, class and caste. CEPA’s objective in hosting the Open Forum on Poverty every quarter is to provide a platform for groups of professionals to discuss their research and/or experience on poverty and related issues. The Open Forum also functions as a medium through which knowledge can be disseminated to a wider audience.