Sampath Bank social responsibility feted as best in the country

Honoured with Gold award for CSR Brand of the Year at SLIM Brand Excellence 2015

Sampath Bank, renowned as a responsible corporate citizen, was yet again duly honoured for their genuine efforts when the bank clinched the Gold award in the category of CSR Brand of the Year at the recently concluded SLIM Brand Excellence Award Ceremony held at the Sirimavo Bandaranaike Memorial Hall, BMICH. This award recognised Sampath Bank’s continuous efforts in giving back to society that have profoundly contributed towards the overall development of social well-being in Sri Lanka.

SLIM Brand Excellence is a flagship event in the country’s corporate calendar, conducted by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM). It celebrates brand excellence at a national level and rewards the outstanding efforts of outstanding marketers that elevate local brands to global standards.

Sampath Bank was extended with this award for their entrepreneur development program ‘Sampath Saviya’. Through the program, the bank substantially empowered micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs with knowledge and skills in addition to providing financial support. It is the recognition of this unique philosophy and its unprecedented model of execution that resulted in the receipt of the CSR Brand of the Year Gold Awards at SLIM Brand Excellence Award 2015.

Sampath Team with the prestigious CSR Brand of the Year award

Launched in 2013, ‘Sampath Saviya’ focusses on groups of MSMEs selected from different regions and develops their potential in a multitude of ways thus enabling them to become successful entrepreneurs. To this end the bank conducts a series of three day workshops with the selected entrepreneurs and trains them in important areas such as human resource management, administration and business planning in addition to enhancing their financial literacy.

In addition to placing a special emphasis on the identification of women entrepreneurs ‘Sampath Saviya’ also monitors the execution of the entrepreneur’s business plans for a period of two years, making sure that the bank steps in when support is needed.

Since its inception, three years ago, ‘Sampath Saviya’ has delivered on its promise by uplifting the lives of more than 1,000 families across the island. The systematic development of entrepreneurs targeted by the program has already shown immense success with many of the beneficiaries having shown significant success in their businesses.

One of the most notable of such entrepreneurs K.P. Lalith Nandika from Buttala had started ‘Shakya Herbals’, his own business of unique herbal products way back in 2002. However, Nandika was able to turn the tables around and reach success when he enrolled for the Sampath Saviya in 2014.

“Sampath Saviya was the turning point in my business. Up until the point I enrolled for Sampath Saviya, I had been unable to lift my business above a certain level due to reasons which I only kunderstood once I started attending the workshops and receiving guidance from the Sampath Bank officials. Through Sampath Saviya, I was able to gain a comprehensive knowledge of business management and planning which I had been lacking hitherto. I was able to develop knowledge in important areas such as accounting, management, marketing and positive thinking. This coupled with the personal guidance from Sampath Bank officials opened the doors of success to my business,” said Lalith Nandika when commenting about the contribution by Sampath Saviya to his business success.

RN Matrix Systems DirectorM.L.R.K. Senaratne

M.L.R.K. Senaratne, another entrepreneur who benefitted from Sampath Saviya is an acclaimed inventor whose dream to market his inventions was made a reality through Sampath Saviya. Senaratne whose inventive products were mainly home appliances had been struggling to convert his passion into a successful business until he was introduced to Sampath Saviya by Sri Lanka New Inventor’s Commission in 2014.

“I have always been an inventor. Despite being locally and internationally recognized for my new thinking, I was not being able to successfully convert my passion into a business as I had to improve in a lot of areas. This was made possible only via Sampath Saviya. In addition to the financial assistance the bank provided me based on a thorough understanding of my needs, I was educated on the most important areas of running a successful business such as accountancy, marketing, leadership, etc. Moreover, it helped me in learning how to receive market feedback which is crucial for new inventions. I must say that I’m much indebted to Sampath Saviya for the success I enjoy today.”

Commenting on this recognition, Tharaka Ranwala, Deputy General Manager – Marketing and Business Development and overall pillar head of CSR, Sampath Bank, said: “As a socially responsible corporate citizen, Sampath Bank always identifies the need to empower the lives of Sri Lankans. The Sampath Saviya CSR project aims to empower SME’s who are essentially the backbone of our country’s economy. We are indeed proud that our constant investment in social improvement has been recognized on such a prestigious platform and are profoundly motivated to continue our efforts to make Sri Lanka a more developed nation.”

Sampath Bank’s  ‘5E CSR Model,’ which includes Education for Development, Empowerment of Communities, Ethics and Values, Environment Protection and Conservation and Entrepreneurship Development, has been the basis for formulating the areas of focus for Sampath Bank’s many CSR initiatives. As such the bank spreads out CSR projects to the rural and semi urban regions of Sri Lanka with a focus on small and medium scale projects that share the benefit with a greater number of beneficiaries.