Sri Lanka’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the food sector is to get a lifeline of accessing capital with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The USAID coordinates with Keells Supermarkets and Hatton National Bank (HNB) on an innovative supply chain financing facility that supports micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the food sector as capital infusion.
Through greater access to capital, this facility reduces the supply chain disruptions that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic and were exacerbated by the country’s recent economic crisis, Charitha Subasinghe, the President of John Keells Holdings, parent company of Keells Supermarkets, said.
“This facility supports Keells Supermarkets goal of creating shared value for stakeholders, supporting the local economy, and ensuring uninterrupted product availability for r customers,”he added.
The facility provides MSMEs with competitive fixed interest rate financing it will provide a total US$ 430,000 to eight suppliers in its first weeks of operations.
The partnership plans to support approximately 100 MSMEs to obtain $4 million worth of credit over six months.
“This will enable MSMEs to meet their working capital needs, such as purchasing raw materials, paying salaries, and covering other short-term expenses, so businesses continue running smoothly” stated Sanjay Wijemanne, HNB’s Deputy General Manager for SME & Retail Banking.
.”We are confident that this will further empower MSMEs to achieve their business objectives. We thank both USAID and Keells for partnering with HNB on this initiative.” Gabriel Grau, the USAID/Sri Lanka and Maldives Mission Director said:
“Sri Lankan enterprises face increasing pressures due to recent global supply chain disruptions, high energy costs, volatile inflation rates, and economic instability, he said adding that This supply chain financing facility alleviates some of the pressures and enables MSMEs to optimize their working capital.”
The USAID) Sri Lanka invested in a private sector approach to help SMEs expand their businesses, invest in their supply chains, and nurture market linkages.
the USAID-funded BIZ plus program supports Sri Lankan enterprises with matching grants, business training and technical assistance to strengthen their capacity to meet market demand and stimulate economic growth.
Over seven years the program has generated more than US $5 million in capital investments in the food processing sector and created nearly 2,500 jobs and income earning opportunities in the food and agriculture industry.
