ComBank reaches out to SMEs in Gampaha and Puttalam

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently interacted with 160 entrepreneurs from the Gampaha and Puttalam districts at a programme held in Wennappuwa as part of the bank’s on-going initiative to develop entrepreneurship skills within the SMEs in the country. 
The resource person for the programme was Chandana Gunawardena, a leading speaker on motivation and business development. The emphasis of the programme was on empowerment of participants in the areas of business development and sustainability.
The programme was attended by the Regional Manager (Colombo North) of Commercial Bank Mrs Dharshanie Perera, officers of the Development Credit Department of the Bank and Branch Managers in the region.
The Commercial Bank has been conducting similar programmes for entrepreneurs in many areas of the country. The bank has to date conducted 59  Entrepreneurship Skill Development and Capacity Building programmes in the Northern, Eastern, North Central, Southern, Uva, Central and Western Provinces. These programmes have benefited more than 5,200 entrepreneurs, the bank said.
In May 2016 the Bank also conducted a special programme in Matara exclusively for women entrepreneurs. It was attended by more than 100 participants.
These programmes are supported by the Bank’s 15 Agriculture & Micro Finance Units (AMFUs) which play a key role in helping identify specific needs of people who require assistance to develop either their agriculture activities or micro businesses, and are dedicated to promoting agriculture lending and micro finance.