Multi-stakeholder seminar on ‘SME Access to Finance’

The Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), the nodal private sector organisation in Sri Lanka representing the Confederation of Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), as a focal point will jointly organise the programme on ‘SME Access to Finance’ with Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) and International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) with the assistance of CACCI.

The programme will be held at the Taj Samudra, Colombo, on 26 March 2011.

This one-day programme will be conducted by four foreign speakers, namely Cora Conde – Senior Vice President – Head of the SME Department, Development Bank of the Philippines; Arlene Orencia, Senior Assistant Vice President – Head, Account Management Unit, Corporate Banking, Development Bank of the Philippines; Edwin Domingo, Head of Marketing and Market Intelligence, EASTERN Communications; and Cecille Ibarra , Head of Training and Advocacy Unit of the Association Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) Consulting (AC) .

Resource persons from Sri Lanka will also be invited by FCCISL to present on local perspectives and to facilitate the SMEs.

The subject areas to be covered during this programme would include business planning (roadmap for the business to convince banks that the planned activities and transactions for which they are borrowing will yield adequate returns that will enable the business to repay the loan – business model, marketing plan, technical plan, organisational plan, financial plan), financial management for SMEs (tools and techniques to help SMEs prepare, maintain and analyse financial statements required by banks – accounting for non-accountants basic record keeping, preparation of basic financial statements), web-based operational management (operational technology to enhance the financial and operational efficiency of SME success – SME customer relationship management tool, “green” data centre services and live demonstration) and how to approach banks (how to comply with bank loan requirements and provide key advice in developing a mutually beneficial relationship with banks – assessment of financial requirements, process of applying for a loan, loan negotiation techniques).

The target audience for this programme is small and medium entrepreneurs, bank officials, advisors and consultants, public and private officials assisting SMEs and other beneficiaries and will be conducted in both Sinhalese and English.

The workshop methodology will consist of lectures, structured discussions and workshop. This capacity enhancement programme would result in empowering SMEs by making them sustainable, competitive and bankable enterprises.

The economic and social importance of the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector has been well recognised. One of the critical elements for SME survival and growth is access to finance.

Surveys have revealed that SMEs have difficulty in borrowing from formal channels of credit in view of their inability to present bankable proposals due to limited knowledge and skills in financial management and operational governance. Many financial providers consider SME financing as a high risk activity that generates high transaction costs and/or low returns on investment.

Moreover, SMEs need to meet the challenge of adapting to the changing financial environment and the increasing complexity and extent of financial reporting. Improvement of access to finance of SMEs is crucial in fostering entrepreneurship, competition, innovation and growth.

In this context the objective of this programme is to provide SMEs with an overview of the required knowledge and skills in financial management and introduce new technology that would help them organise and systematise their business processes so they can enhance their financial and operational efficiency, and consequently, their bankability.