Pioneer in microfinance, HNB Grameen Finance Ltd, recently announced the appointment of Hasitha Wijesundara to the director board of the company with effect from September 27, 2016.

Wijesundara is a development expert who counts over a decade of experience in microfinance and small and medium enterprise (SME) finance in terms of advising on regulatory framework, sector strategies, bank training, green finance, social performance management and inclusive finance. Being an advisor and senior specialist with the SME Development Programme of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (GIZ), he is extensively involved in both private sector development (PSD) and financial system development (FSD) work within GIZ and beyond. 

As a multifaceted professional, he holds a Master’s degree in Economics (MA) from the University of Colombo, Bachelor degree in Law (LL.B) and Bachelor degree in Science (B.Sc). He also has fellowships with several local and international professional bodies. He has been an Attorney-at-Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka since 2009 and is currently reading for the Masters of Laws (LLM) degree. Wijesundara is an accredited trainer of microfinance and SME finance with international bodies such as the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Germany and CGAP. Further to that he serves as a visiting senior lecturer at several universities and higher educational institutions.
He coordinated the initial setting up and up scaling of the Lanka Microfinance Practitioners’ Association (LMFPA), which is the main meso-level practitioner platform for the microfinance industry in Sri Lanka. 

He serves as an editorial board member of the LMFPA for its annual publication, the ‘Sri Lanka Microfinance Review’. He was also instrumental in establishing the dual diploma programme at the Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL) with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. 
In addition to his experience within Sri Lanka, he has hands on experience regionally. Being a team member of appraisal missions for the Sustainable Regional Economic Growth and Investment Programme (SREGIP) in Indonesia and the Promotion of Green Economic Development (ProGED) Programme in the Philippines, he contributed to the project design and shaping up. 
He is conversant with the financial systems in countries including India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and Pakistan.

Wijesundara joins an eminent director panel comprising Jonathan Alles, B. Premalal, Rose Cooray, Chaminda Prabhath, Crysanthi Thambiah, Sandamini Perera, Thimal Perera, Anushka Wijesinha and Dr. Udan Fernando.