Sarvodaya Development Finance recognised as fastest growing development finance company

Sarvodaya Development Finance (SDF), has won global recognition as the fastest growing development finance company in Sri Lanka, at the UK-based, Global Banking and Finance Review Awards 2021. SDF is the financial services arm of the Sarvodaya Movement.

The international award, which is valued throughout the global banking and financial community, recognises companies in the financial sector that specialise and excel in their chosen field. Nominations are reviewed for suitability and the judging panel, comprising a research team, an editor and a publisher, select a winner. The high level of global competitiveness in applications and independent judging process makes the Global Banking and Finance Review Awards a globally prestigious vote of recognition. 

This international recognition of SDF as the fastest growing development finance company in Sri Lanka, reflects SDF’s contributions towards its customer segments over the years, and in particular during 2020, when SDF extended extensive support for Sri Lanka’s SMEs. While continuing to serve all customer segments during the unexpected emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, by facilitating uninterrupted availability of financial solutions for enterprises, entrepreneurs, individuals and their families, SDF was quick to respond to the urgent needs of SMEs during this time. 

Sri Lanka’s SMEs were the most vulnerable to market shocks, including the sudden and total loss of orders and supplies, and experienced a real threat to their survival during the prolonged periods of national and global lockdowns. Instead of forsaking the struggling SMEs during these dark months, SDF has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with its entrepreneurs and supported them both psychologically as well as financially, by immediately allowing them to benefit from the repayment moratorium, while also assisting them to develop recovery plans.  

SDF’s customer welfare approach, has encouraged many customers to return for financial services, which has resulted in an unprecedented growth in company assets and profits. As a financial services provider, SDF has created value in all aspects of its services, and in particular in developing the businesses and wellbeing of customers, while safeguarding envisaged cash inflows and outflows. Therefore, SDF firmly believes this approach has made SDF stand out from other financial services providers, to become the fastest growing development finance company in Sri Lanka. 

As a member of the Sarvodaya family, SDF has traditionally adopted a customer centric approach in its service delivery, while emphasising financial support for sustainable businesses that do not have adverse social and environmental impacts. In its role as a financial services provider, SDF also values entrepreneurship, particularly rural entrepreneurship, as essential for the growth and prosperity of Sri Lanka’s economy. 

Therefore, SDF has developed and delivered many value-added services in tandem with its specialised financial products, to assist SMEs develop markets and business opportunities, including technical training programs and special market development events. These additional services, coupled with competitively priced financial services, have supported the gradual growth of many rural business ventures from micro level, to small, and then, medium status. 

The linkages with Sarvodaya Sharmadana Societies, together with the strategic investments in modern ICTs, made it possible for SDF to reach out to grassroots rural entrepreneurs in this time of need. 

Looking beyond COVID-19, SDF is ready to enhance its financial services by reaching deeper into the Sri Lankan rural economies to encourage a faster overall economic recovery. SDF’s business policy is to fuel economic growth by channelling credit, and other support services, for environmentally friendly, sustainable business models across the country that contribute towards environmental conservation, while also facilitating quality of life improvements for communities as a whole. SDF’s highly trained and motivated workforce, backed by modern digital technologies, is poised to drive this development drive towards its objective.