Sarvodaya Development Finance’s ‘Nena Diriya’ to uplift education in suburban, rural Sri Lanka
Sarvodaya Development Finance, a licensed finance company approved by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, launched ‘Nena Diriya’ micro leasing loan with the aim of uplifting the education of children in suburban and rural parts of Sri Lanka, by providing them access to purchase laptops at concessionary rates.
The launch ceremony, attended by Sarvodaya Development Finance Chairman Channa de Silva and CEO Nilantha Jayanetti, was held at the Kamburupitiya branch, recently.
With the spreading of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown imposed islandwide in the month of March, children’s education was significantly disrupted as they were unable to attend school or tuition classes. As a result, a number of schools shifted to conducting classes using online tools.
While a minority of the student population living mostly in the urban areas had easy access to computers and laptops for their online education, a majority of the population from suburban and rural areas were left out due to financial difficulties in purchasing laptops.
As a responsible organisation that believes that all segments of society are cared for and given every opportunity to grow, Sarvodaya Development Finance stepped forward to provide these students the means to acquire their own laptop by launching the Nena Diriya micro leasing loan.
Nena Diriya offers low interest rates and attractive benefits for students of any age group to acquire a laptop for their studies.
Expressing his views, Silva commented, “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused great hardships in Sri Lanka and across the world. One of the most vital aspects for the future of the country is to ensure that children are able to continue their studies without falling behind. The inequalities of society mean that a large majority of the student population does not have access to modern technology such as laptops. Therefore, in order to give them a helping hand, we, at Sarvodaya Development Finance, stepped forward by launching the Nena Diriya micro leasing loan. We are confident that this latest product by the company will enhance the educational opportunities for thousands of students across all parts of the island.”
Jayanetti added, “The children are the future of any country and it is imperative that we take all possible measures to ensure that they have all the tools and technologies to continue their studies without any disruptions even during a global pandemic like what we are enduring right now. It is clear that education is moving towards digitalisation and it’s a trend that is expected to continue even after the pandemic is over. As a result, the Nena Diriya micro leasing loan will pave the way for children of suburban and rural areas to acquire laptops and be ready to pursue their studies in the ‘new normal’. I am proud to state that there has been a significant demand for this product since its recent launch and our team is taking all necessary steps to fast track the disbursement of funds to customers.”
Sarvodaya Development Finance is the development finance arm of the Sarvodaya Movement, one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most respected not-for-profit organisations. Sarvodaya Movement is a leading people’s organisation in Sri Lanka with a history of 60 years’ operating in more than 5,000 villages currently in the country.
Guided by the principles of the Sarvodaya Movement, which is based on the value of empowering rural and village communities, Sarvodaya Development Finance has nearly 30 years of committed history in providing development finance services across Sri Lanka, serving through 30 branches and 21 service centres. While remaining in development finance, Sarvodaya Development Finance has now expanded into SME business, leasing and other ancillary finance businesses.