From right: PMF Chairman Chandula Abeywickrema and PMF CEO Nalin Wijekoon hand over inaugural Navodhaya entrepreneurship loan to R.M.N. Dayarathna 

People’s Merchant Finance PLC (PMF), aligned to its new turnaround strategy and to continue its vision of catering to the diverse financial needs of all Sri Lankans, launched the Navodhaya entrepreneurship loan scheme recently, taking a responsible approach by holding hands with MSME entrepreneurs to empower them to scale up their enterprises. 

The Navodhaya entrepreneurship loan scheme with several unique features is not a simple financial product and PMF has spent months researching and identifying the needs of emerging entrepreneurs. This will offer them a turnkey customised solution from offering a competitively priced loan product, educating entrepreneurs on handling financial and business matters, to guiding and supporting them on their business journey. 

A separate unit has been tasked with overlooking this product and is responsible to provide personalised services to individual entrepreneurs based on their distinct needs. This product is being targeted predominantly at the upper end of the microfinance sector and the lower end of the SME sector as the opportunity for growth and expansion for emerging Sri Lankan entrepreneurs.

“It is our belief that as new enterprises emerge from the SME sector and we [PMF] help them to develop their idea(s) to a productive business, these entrepreneurs will become a key target clientele for us [PMF] in the future. They will support the growth of PMF and become an important and intrinsic part of the sustainable growth journey we [PMF] have embarked on,” said PMF CEO Nalin Wijekoon.

This entrepreneurship loan scheme is designed to be commercially viable and sustainable, growing and changing aligned to the development of the client’s business needs. Considering the importance of technology in this digital age, PMF will provide tech support in partnership with emerging technology companies. Also included as part of the product is training and development to build individuals’ business and financial skills, knowledge on laws and regulations and best practices to adopt to for business success. 

The Navodhaya entrepreneurship loan scheme product is the very first ‘one of its kind’ product being introduced to the market by a non-banking financial institution in Sri Lanka. Therefore, supporting this development not only enables PMF to achieve its goals but also promotes the upliftment of rural communities as well as driving the economic development and GDP value of the country.