SDB bank, a future-ready bank supporting SMEs, empowering women and driving digitalisation

Since its inception 24 years ago, SDB bank has been continually driven by its core intention of helping people from all walks of life to stand on their feet. The bank recently unveiled an island-wide campaign, aptly themed #WhereYouAreValued, highlighting its commitment to uplift the SME sector and the community at large. 

Supporting Sri Lanka’s small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, which plays a vital role in the country’s economy and contributes 53% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is SDB bank’s core purpose, as well as the empowerment of women entrepreneurs and the realisation of digital inclusion of Sri Lanka’s masses. This objective is encouraged by its big impact investors who share this common goal. 

“SDB bank has surpassed several hallmark events in recent years: it set the record as Sri Lanka’s first Colombo Stock Exchange-listed entity to host a fully digital rights issue and recently concluded its Secondary Public Offering (SPO) – both endeavours were successfully completed with oversubscriptions,” shared Head of Marketing Hasitha Samarasinghe. 

“These milestones, together with the elevation of the bank’s operations, technology and how we serve our island-wide clientele, have fuelled SDB Bank’s core objective of uplifting SMEs, empowering women entrepreneurs and enabling island-wide digital inclusion,” he added.  

SDB Bank fervently commits itself to ensure that women entrepreneurs are supported in multiple ways to get to the next level so that they could actively contribute to the economy of Sri Lanka. In addition to specialised financial products, the bank also runs mentoring programmes, workshops and other initiatives to enhance the potential of women entrepreneurs. 

SDB bank was recently granted a $ 40 million credit line from the United States International Development Finance Corporation, out of which 40% will be allocated to women entrepreneurship development – a commitment which will ultimately benefit the Sri Lankan economy.  

SDB bank positions itself as a future-ready bank, providing holistic, 360-degree support to its customers. Identifying, understanding and being empathetic to the needs of small to medium-scaled customers, the bank offers a range of comprehensive platforms and products to cater to their specific needs by looking at their true potential and enable them to be more competitive. 

Catering to customers’ ever-changing needs, it also offers a gamut of value additions, such as awareness-building programmes on various business aspects, from value chain enhancements to financial management. To elevate these knowledge-sharing initiatives, the bank partners with organisations such as CA Sri Lanka for mentorship programmes. 

SDB Bank is a pioneering body that drives the journey towards digital inclusivity of the community. Working in tandem with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) to drive LANKAQR – a highly efficient and secure payment solution launched by CBSL to digitally empower Sri Lanka – and through its own revolutionary multi-functional mobile wallet UPay app, SDB bank has empowered customers with multiple digital transaction solutions and value-added services that have taken digital technologies to the masses. 

Sustainability is another key concern for SDB Bank, which strives to make the Sri Lankan economy sustainable. From simple acts such as reducing energy usage in its branches to lowering customers’ commute by enabling them to enjoy all the bank’s services online and via digital channels, to providing special financial solutions for alternate energy projects, the bank is a key driver of sustainability, financially and environmentally.

SDB bank distinguishes itself from the market by its core purpose, operational excellence and technology-centric growth drive. Not motivated by profits by principle, the bank is driven by its causes: supporting Sri Lanka’s SMEs, empowering women entrepreneurs and taking digital technologies to the masses. 

#WhereYouAreValued perfectly defines SDB bank, where every customer is valued for their potential and not their worth.