Commercial Bank conducts capacity building program for agri SMEs in Uva

Tuesday, 10 March 2015 01:19 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently extended its support to 150 entrepreneurs of the Uva Province by providing them with valuable information on developing their businesses, through a special program organised for them. The program was jointly organised by the Bandarawela, Badulla and Welimada branches with assistance of the Bank’s Agriculture and Micro Finance Unit (AMFU) –Bandarawela.

The program in Bandarawela was conducted in collaboration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), and covered the topics ‘Improvement of agricultural product quality by applying key concepts of post harvesting technology, in relation to cut flower, vegetable and tea industries’ and ‘Possibilities of entering export markets in the above sectors.’ Entrepreneurs from the tea, floriculture and vegetable sectors, nominated by the bank’s Badulla, Bandarawela and Welimada branches participated in this program. Sanath Perera, Regional Manager, Commercial Bank, Uva – Sabaragamuwa, D.M.D.B. Disanayaka, Provincial Manager – Kandy of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and E.B. Sooriyaarachchi, Senior Manager, Commercial Bank Development Credit Department were the chief invitees for this program. Among the representatives of other supportive institutions were G.A. Gurusinghe, Deputy Director of the Agriculture Department, D. Perera, Deputy Director of the Export Development Board, S.S.S. Guruge, Assistant Commissioner of the Tea Board and I.V. Mohotti, Assistant Regional Manager of the Tea Small Holdings Development Authority. The Commercial Bank has conducted similar programs for SMEs and micro entrepreneurs in areas such as Narammala, Galle, Monaragala, Wellawaya, Badulla, Passara, Bandarawela, Welimada, Weligama, Koggala, Karapitiya, Matara, Batticaloa, Ampara, Jaffna and Vavuniya in the recent past. The bank’s Agriculture and Micro Finance Units are located in Ratnapura, Narammala, Kandy, Anuradhapura, Kilinochchi, Bandarawela, Wellawaya, Hingurakgoda, Galewela, Atchuvely, Vavuniya and Tissamaharama. They identify and support people who need financial assistance for Agri/micro businesses and provide guidance on how to improve their businesses and help resolve difficulties. The only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1000 banks of the world for four consecutive years (2011-2014), Commercial Bank operates a network of 241 branches and 609 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The bank has won multiple awards as Sri Lanka’s best bank over several years, and was adjudged one of the country’s 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and 2014. The bank has been rated the Most Respected Bank in Sri Lanka by LMD for the past 10 years, has been the second Most Respected Corporate entity in the country overall for the past four years, and been rated No 1 in Sri Lanka for Honesty in 2013 and 2014 by the magazine.