HNB-Agripreneures Forum to offer tech solutions to agri sector

HNB Deputy General Manager Retail and SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne (fifth from left) exchanges MoU with Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum Chairman Rizvi Zaheed (fifth from right) in the presence of (from left) HNB Assistant General Manager SME Kalivasan Indravasan, HNB Head of SME Products and Partnerships Niluka T. Amarasinghe, HNB Head of Refinance Schemes and Special Lending Products Bandara Rekogama, HNB Undergraduate Trainee Dasuni Basnayake, Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum Honorary Secretary Selvanathan Anojan, Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum ExCo Member Jeevan Gnanam, Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum ExCo Member Kalpana Kandage and Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum Head of Secretariat Ruwin Mapa

Sri Lanka’s largest SME-friendly bank HNB PLC partnered with the Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in expanding their agriculture services via technology-based solutions. 

The collaboration will offer SMEs access to agro forums on technology-based solutions such as mechanisation, innovative harvesting and post-harvesting. HNB Deputy General Manager Retail and SME Banking Sanjay Wijemanne, HNB Assistant General Manager SME Kalivasan Indravasan, HNB Head of SME Products and Partnerships Niluka T. Amarasinghe, HNB Head of Refinance Schemes and Special Lending Products Bandara Rekogama, Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum Chairman Rizvi Zaheed and Sri Lanka Agripreneures Forum Honorary Secretary Selvanathan Anojan were present during the occasion. 

“Despite the advancement of technology, most of the agriculture sector still utilises traditional modes of farming. Unsurprisingly, SMEs operating in Sri Lanka do not have adequate resources to learn and implement technology-based solutions for growth. Therefore, we hope that Sri Lankan SMEs will make use of this unique opportunity to develop despite the current disruptions in the market,” Indravasan said. 

The partnership will provide SMEs access to local and global market opportunities, get the required assistance in preparing cultivation budgets, pricing forecasts and set up businesses and trading offices in overseas countries.