Seminar for Ratnapura entrepreneurs

Over 100 entrepreneurs in the Ratnapura District benefited from a seminar organised recently by the Commercial Bank of Ceylon under its Diribala Viyapara Pubuduwa program designed to develop the entrepreneurial skills of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The seminar emphasised the importance of striking a balance between business and stakeholder needs while enhancing productivity ethically and provided an insight on how it can be achieved, a Bank official said.

Entrepreneurs from the Pelmadulla, Kahawatte, Balangoda, Godakawela and Kuruwita areas attended the seminar, which was conducted by corporate trainer and consultant, Dharshana Welikala.

This was the 21st seminar conducted by the Bank for the SME sector.

Seminars conducted in 2014 in the Batticaloa, Ampara, Jaffna, Vavuniya and Ratnapura districts benefited more than 500 entrepreneurs.

The Diribala Development Loan scheme of Commercial Bank is a dedicated credit line offered by a bank for the benefit of SMEs.

Special attention is focused on the SME sector due to its high contribution to GDP, employment creation and export earnings, the official said.

Diribala loans are offered under attractive and flexible terms to help SMEs develop their business.

Ranked as the 'Strongest Bank in Sri Lanka in 2014' by The Asian Banker and the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the Top 1,000 banks of the world for four consecutive years, Commercial Bank has also been chosen as the most valuable private sector brand in the country this year.

The bank has won multiple awards as Sri Lanka's best bank over several years, was adjudged one of the country's 10 best corporate citizens by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in 2013 and has been rated the Most Respected Bank in Sri Lanka by LMD for the past 10 years.