Seylan Bank ties-up with NEDA

Monday, 18 November 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Seylan Bank PLC partnered the National Enterprises Development Authority (NEDA) to enhance skills of SME sector entrepreneurs to transform their businesses to the next level. Through this partnership, Seylan Bank will offer its SME clients a range of benefits which will also include free access to the web portal of NEDA. Seylan Bank has been in the forefront of SME Banking since its inception in 1987 with a wide network of over 150 outlets to support SME entrepreneurs which play a pivotal role in the economic development of the country. SMEs represent 80% of the businesses and provide 35% of total employment.

These enterprises, mostly family owned or run by a single person are highly vulnerable to external shocks. Main setback in this sector is that most SMEs lack formal training in business disciplines, lack of direction and improper management in key areas such as strategy formulation, business management, market scanning, environmental analysis, finance management (budgeting, cost control, pricing strategies, financial statements) and personnel management. In order to assist them to overcome these barriers, Seylan Bank SME ‘Capacity Building Programs’ will be organised through the SME unit of the Bank covering the entire country. These workshops are conducted targeting bourgeois who have the potential to grow and play a wider role in the country’s economy. These programs are conducted free of charge to entrepreneurs with the collaboration of NEDA. The MOU for the program was signed recently on behalf of Seylan Bank by Deputy General Manager Branch Credit K.D.W. Rohana and NEDA Chairman N.M. Saheed recently in Colombo.