HNB concludes Gami Pubuduwa Field Officers’ Conference and Award Ceremony on a high note

HNB celebrated the 27th milestone year of its flagship microfinance scheme, Gami Pubuduwa (Village Awakening) at the annual Field Officers’ conference which included a series of educational and personal development events and concluded on a high note with an awards ceremony to honour its field force for their contribution in the years 2014 and 2015. A host of invitees from the senior management of HNB including,. Jonathan Alles, MD/ CEO were present at the occasion.

Begun in 1989 with a vision to extend financial services to self-employment projects and other micro enterprises in rural areas, Gami Pubuduwa has become one of the most successful micro-finance programmes implemented by a commercial bank in Sri Lanka. Over the years, the scheme has evolved to establish a plethora of banking products including micro-lending, micro-savings, and micro-insurance in addition to the non-financial services such as Financial Education and Entrepreneur Development programmes.

The awards ceremony for the years 2014 and 2015 which honoured field officers who have performed exceptionally well during the respective years took place under the patronage of Jonathan Alles, CEO/Managing Director, HNB PLC.

In commemoration of late J Chrisantha R Cooray, former Chairman of HNB, a scholarship was offered to the Best Performing Microfinance Officer of the year. Romesh Vandort of HNB Uddappuwa branch and Nalin Paranawithana of HNB Homagama branch, received the awards for the years 2014 and 2015 respectively.