SMEs the Back bone of Sri Lankan Economy
Elaborating on the Small and Medium Enterprises Sector of Sri Lanka, Senior Executive Vice President – SME Banking at Nations Trust Bank, Bandara Jayathilake discusses the efforts that the Bank has been making over the past years to become the ultimate banking partner that facilitates and mentors growing entrepreneurs in the country.
“Any business with a turnover of less than LKR 750 Million falls into the category of Small and Medium Enterprises. SME is a key focus area for Nations Trust Bank as we recognise it as a sector that can really unleash the potential we have in the country. 85% to 90% of businesses in Sri Lanka are SMEs which play a significant role in facilitating the country’s economic growth while also providing 70% of employment.” said Bandara Jayathileke.
Adding further, Bandara Jayathileke said, “Many believe that the primary concern of SMEs is overcoming their financial inadequacies which is a misconception. SMEs manage to source their capital from self-savings or through aid from family and friends. However, the rate of failure for SMEs remain very high with 75% closing down within seven years. This is simply due to the lack of market research, planning, due diligence and most importantly the inadequate guidance they have before starting a business. Understanding this scenario, we have come forward to be a banking partner that can help SMEs thrive in their businesses by facilitating them financially and as well as proper mentorship and advocacy that will ultimately contribute to reduce the high fallout rate of SMEs in the country”.
“We have also changed our business model and this has resulted in 2017 being a great year for us. The major change was stakeholder engagement wherein both the drivers and the handlers of business worked together living up to one of our core values of ‘winning together’ and it has been a revolution; one team with one dream with shared KPIs and a common dashboard. The results of this change are clearly visible in our bottom line and also from the response we are receiving from our customers.” said, Bandara Jayathileke.