The government has disbursed loans to the value of Rs. 91 billion under its major development program ‘Enterprise Sri Lanka’ over the last two years, a Treasury official said.
A large portion of loans has been given under the ‘Jaya Isura’ category- which is meant for entrepreneurs and small and medium sector enterprises. The total loans issued under this category in August amounted to Rs. 56 billion. Meanwhile, loans under ‘Ran Aswenna’ which is targeted at agriculture based programs amounted to Rs. 21 billion.
The Enterprise Sri Lanka loan scheme was launched in a bid to support creating 100,000 entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka by 2020. “The scheme is progressing very well and the banks have also supported the scheme in a great way by initiating promotional programs to encourage youth to create new enterprises,” the official said.
State Finance Minister Eran Wickramaratne told a recent meeting that the government has understood the needs of a new breed of young entrepreneurs and has put in place the necessary financial frameworks to support them. “Enterprise Sri Lanka will be an ideal platform to create a conductive environment with fair and equal opportunities for the budding local entrepreneurs to contribute to the country’s development.” A series of programs across the country has been conducted to educate the people on the benefits of the Enterprise Sri Lanka initiative.
So far several major exhibitions have been held in places as far as Moneragala and Anuradhapura where rural youth got the exposure and the opportunity to create their own ventures. Treasury officials said, the exhibitions which were held previously became an ideal platform for those who wish to become entrepreneurs in their respective fields and to obtain the know-how and share knowledge on enterprise development.” The third Enterprise Sri Lanka national exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Finance to promote entrepreneurs will be held in Jaffna from September 7 to 10. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera and a team of officials visited Jaffna recently to discuss the final points of the organization of the exhibition, a Ministry official said. The exhibition will apprise the public of the progress of the ongoing development projects of the government and the future development programs. The exhibition will also raise awareness among public on the implementation of the interest subsidized loan scheme, Enterprise Sri Lanka and other similar programs. There will be a large number of trade stalls where the public will be able to purchase goods at subsidized prices. It will also have trade and cultural shows among others.
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