NDB in partnership with Cord360 supports exporters to venture new global market opportunities

Dilini Thilakarathne, Yashoda Indeewar, Cord360 Managing Director Ayanthi Gurusinghe, Cord360 Chairman Thisath Wijayagunawardane, NDB Director/Group CEO Dimantha Seneviratne, NDB Vice President SME, Middle Market and Business Banking Indika Ranaweera, NDB AVP Business Banking, SME, Micro Finance and Liabilities Indika Kudagamage, Janaka Meepagala (NDB), Sewwandi Perera (NDB)

NDB, being one of the largest players in the SME and Micro Finance segment, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with www.Cord360.com as a means to support exporters to venture into new global market opportunities.

Connecting to international partners and finding markets is one of the critical challenges faced by every exporter and in building a market entry strategy, building of an intelligence system and creating an image through promotion takes time, effort and money. As a means of support, NDB along with Cord360 has created a path for exporters under the NDB Jayagamu Sri Lanka initiative.

Expressing his views, NDB Bank Vice President of SME, Middle Markets and Business Banking Indika Ranaweera said, “Large investments in promotion campaigns are needed for brand names to gain traction. Transaction costs also are a critical factor in building up a market entry strategy and can become a high barrier to international trade. Costs include search and bargaining costs. Physical distance, language barriers, logistics costs and risk limit the direct monitoring of trade partners. Enforcement of contracts may be costly and weak legal integration between countries makes things difficult. These factors are important when considering a market entry strategy.” 

“As a break through to these challenges, NDB launched a new digital path breaking all traditional barriers to market entry points in partnership with cord360,” he added. 

www.Cord360.com is an international online B2B platform created to connect buyers and seller for the first time in Sri Lanka with the view of expanding exports. Exporters can advertise in 15 different languages and post 40 plus industry products across 190 countries.  The partnership will also provide ‘one stop shop’ support to customers by engaging all NDB partners to support exporters in areas of finance, logistics, packaging and market access through cord360.com. Gone are the days when international trading had to be connected through trade exhibitions with limited access to buyers or calling a broker to arrange for purchases or sales. With online trading it’s all done in just a few clicks and the client has the opportunity to be directly connected between buyer and seller. Online trading is very affordable, as more and more buyers and trading companies access online trading, the costs of dealing decreased considerably, thus allowing traders to benefit from greater income when successful trades are made. 

Furthermore there is greater control trough online trading, trades can be conducted at any time day or night, allowing traders to choose when they choose to trade. Additionally, trading can take place via mobile device or laptop, allowing for even more flexibility and freedom and trading on the go. With Cord360 platform you can advertise on any desired destination in 15 different languages of your choice and the data transacted are real time trading  Online trading is extremely fast. As soon as an account has been set up with the platform trading can take place immediately as long as sufficient supplies are held with the trader or manufacture. There are numerous online trading platforms available today but trading with www.cord360.com with the value added support and knowledge of by National Development Bank is ready to offer a new opportunity to Sri Lankan exporters with different trading strategies that are available to help make the most of your trades and have a better overall knowledge of the industry for a challenging tomorrow. 

The Bank, which is the 4th largest listed commercial bank in Sri Lanka, is one of the fastest growing banks, having had a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) in advances by 21% and in deposits by 25% in the last four years. From its inception, NDB Bank, along with the NDB Group has been a catalyst in the development of the nation, strengthening and empowering entrepreneurs, corporates and individuals from all strata of the economy.