NDB secures US$ 75mn from United States Development Finance Corporation

NDB Bank this week disclosed that they have secured a long term funding line of US$ 75 million from the Development Finance Corporation of the United States to further the bank’s support for Small and Medium businesses and infrastructure funding during these challenging times.

The United States is providing a welcome boost to Small and Medium businesses in Sri Lanka struggling with the impact of the pandemic.  

The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is awarding a US$ 75 million funding line to NDB Bank to support its work in expanding and strengthening the SME sector.  

DFC is the development finance institution of the United States federal government, primarily responsible for providing and facilitating the financing of private development projects in lower- and middle-income countries.  

The funding line comes at a time when the country requires long-term, stable funding to help the economy recover from the effects of the pandemic. 

With its DNA deeply rooted in development banking, NDB is ideally placed to enhance the impact of the funding in conjunction with its flagship propositions Jayagamu Sri Lanka for uplifting entrepreneurship in SMEs and Vanithabhimani for uplifting women-driven businesses.  Further, the investments the group is making in technology, including, but not limited to, virtual KYC and digital payment platforms, will improve financial inclusivity and enable SMEs to seamlessly transact with NDB. These investments advance DFC’s development strategy, the Roadmap for Impact, and are part of DFC’s  2X Women’s Initiative which aligns with NDB’s Banking on Women initiatives aimed at improving financial inclusivity, gender equity and supporting women-led organisations. 

NDB Bank, the fourth largest private bank in Sri Lanka, recognized as the best bank in Sri Lanka 2020 by The Banker UK, and best bank in Sri Lanka 2021 by Global Finance USA, has been at the forefront of supporting MSMEs, women-led enterprises and project finance. 

“DFC is proud of our investment in National Development Bank, a leader in SME and gender-led investing in Sri Lanka,” said Algene Sajery, Vice President of DFC’s Office of External Affairs and Head of Global Gender Equity Initiatives. 

“We applaud NDB Group’s ongoing commitment to unlocking the full economic potential of women in Sri Lanka, both by ensuring women are employed by and in senior management positions in their own organization, and by committing to lending a portion of DFC’s loan to businesses that are owned by women, led by women, or provide a product or service that empowers women.”

Speaking on this transaction, Dimantha Seneviratne, Group CEO of NDB Group said, “While this is not the first time NDB has raised significant  foreign funding, this is the first time we are borrowing from a US-based Development Finance Institution (DFI) whose development aspirations are aligned to that of NDB.   Further, the timing of the facility cannot be better, coming at a critical juncture in the economy impacted by the 3rd wave of the pandemic”.   

He further noted, NDB was at the forefront in supporting the SME sector in these challenging times, disbursing the 4th largest quantum of Saubaghya loans.  This facility will help NDB support this vital sector of the economy with longer term funding at their time of need. NDB recently tied up as the main banking partner for SL @ 100 initiative funded by USAID, which promotes SMEs to upgrade to higher levels through strategic alignment initiatives. NDB Group is the only financial conglomerate in the country, providing financials service covering Banking, Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Securities trading and venture capital funding. 

The digital convenience it offers through its award-winning mobile app NEOS and NEOS online complements its 2 phygital branches and 111 physical branches, respectively, 150 plus ATMs and CRMs across the country.  Its continued investment in technology is aimed at providing access to seamless financial solutions across the NDB group, helping develop a financially empowered Sri Lanka.  NDB Investment Bank was the co-financial advisor to the transaction along with Alpen Capital (ME) Limited.