COM Bank, CB to develop SME entrepreneurship skills

Friday, 14 September 2012 01:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Commercial Bank of Ceylon has launched a programme in collaboration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to enhance entrepreneurship skills in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME) sector.

The first seminar of this programme was held recently for entrepreneurs who are in the SME and Micro Enterprise sectors in Nuwara Eliya.

Officials of the Central Bank including M.S.K. Dharmawardena – Additional Director and Jayantha Abeyratne – Assistant Director of the Regional Development Department and representatives of Commercial Bank including Anura Wijekoon, Senior Manager of the Nuwara Eliya Branch and Mohan Fernando, Manager – Development Credit, and around 80 entrepreneurs from areas such as Nuwara Eliya, Labukele, Moon Plains and Hawa Eliya were present at the event.

Presentations at the event were made by representatives from the Central Bank and Development Credit Department of Commercial Bank on aspects pertaining to entrepreneurship, business management, financial management and marketing management.

Participants were also educated on these subjects through group discussions and individual activities. This programme is to be replicated in other parts of the country during the ensuing months, the Bank said. “This joint effort by the largest private sector bank in the country, and the Central Bank, can significantly raise the level of entrepreneurship among SMEs and micro enterprises, thereby enhancing their viability and potential,” Chandana Gunasekera, Assistant General Manager – Personal Banking and SME of Commercial Bank said. “These sectors have been identified for their potential to contribute significantly to the economy of the country. This programme is therefore most timely.”

The Commercial Bank has also conducted a series of programmes on financial literacy together with the Central Bank in various parts of the country including the Northern Province. These programmes have enabled SME’s to improve their financial performance, book keeping and debt management. Commercial Bank is the largest private bank in Sri Lanka, and the only Sri Lankan Bank to be listed two years consecutively in the world’s Top 1000 Banks. It operates a network of 220 service points in Sri Lanka and a network of 530 ATMs, the single largest ATM network operated by a bank in the island.

It also operates 17 service points in Bangladesh and is the fourth largest foreign bank in that country. The bank has been adjudged ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ for 14 consecutive years by ‘Global Finance’ Magazine, and has won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from ‘The Banker,’ ‘FinanceAsia,’ ‘Euromoney’ and ‘Trade Finance’ magazines.