Wednesday Nov 12, 2025
Wednesday Nov 12, 2025
Wednesday, 12 November 2025 03:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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Selyn Business Development Director Selyna Peiris
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Selyn Business Development Director Selyna Peiris yesterday reminded that while the 2026 Budget allocates a record Rs. 80 billion for SMEs, most of it risks being underutilised due to deep structural and procedural barriers that prevent small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – particularly youth and women-led ventures outside Colombo from accessing promised support.
She urged policymakers to focus on “implementation, not intention” if Sri Lanka is to prevent SMEs from falling back into the informal economy.
Sharing insights at the Daily FT–Colombo University Alumni Association post-Budget panel discussion, she welcomed the continuity in macroeconomic direction and the inclusion of the SME voice in national Budget discussions, but said the real test lies in execution.
“The problem is not the allocation, it’s the absorption. It’s that space between what’s promised and what’s accessed, this ‘no man’s land’ where Sri Lankan SMEs are falling through the cracks,” she said.
The 2026 Budget earmarks Rs. 80 billion for SME development, majority of it targeted toward agriculture and related industries. However, Peiris highlighted that last year’s performance underscores a worrying pattern of underutilisation.
“Take the Rs. 6 billion in low-interest SME loans at 8% interest, but only Rs. 2.5 billion was even requested and just Rs. 458 million was disbursed. The Rs. 15 billion credit guarantee scheme saw just Rs. 1 billion used. That gap between what’s allocated and what actually reaches entrepreneurs is where the system is failing.”
She noted that this implementation gap particularly hurts women, youth and rural entrepreneurs, who make up the backbone of the SME sector, but remain disconnected from information networks and financial institutions.
Peiris stressed that the SME ecosystem is highly uneven, with vast differences in access and opportunity between micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“There’s no level playing field and in this uncertainty, fear is setting in. That fear is driving many SMEs back into the cash economy. It’s not a comfortable truth, but it’s happening,” she added.
