Standard Chartered partners YBSL to support Micro/SMEs in Jaffna

From left: CEO CCC Harin Malwatte, Chairman CCC Dr Anura Ekanayake, CEO Standard Chartered Bank Anirvan Ghosh-Dastidar, Country Chief Risk Officer, Standard Chartered Bank Aruni Goonetilleke.

To provide instant seed capital and business literacy to women entrepreneurs in the Jaffna district, Standard Chartered Bank signed an Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Youth Business Sri Lanka (YBSL), a project of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC).

The MOA was signed by Standard Chartered Bank's Chief Executive Anirvan Ghosh-Dastidar and Chairman, CCC Dr. Anura Ekanayake.

The credit scheme, managed by YBSL will help entrepreneurs disadvantaged through lack of access to capital, enhance their businesses while start-ups will gain from the several workshops and seminars jointly organised with the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce.

Ghosh-Dastidar said "Micro-finance is a key area for development of entrepreneurship, essential for Sri Lanka's overall economic development. We look forward to working closely with the Chamber in making a generation of young entrepreneurs self-reliant."

Volunteering for the cause will be some of Standard Chartered Bank's financial experts, who as resource people will provide basic business counselling. Areas covered will be financial management, trade opportunities and banking perspectives.

YBSL provides concessionary credit to disadvantaged young entrepreneurs to start up or enhance an existing business, as a means of improving livelihoods and to enter the main-stream of development activities through networking and social inclusion.