NDB secures $75 m from US state institution

NDB Bank has secured a long term funding line of US$ 75 million from the state-owned Development Finance Corporation of the United States to further the bank’s support for the small and medium businesses and infrastructure funding during these challenging times.

In a media release, the bank said that the US is providing a welcome boost to small and medium businesses in Sri Lanka struggling due to the impact of the pandemic.

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is awarding a $75 million funding line to NDB Bank to support its work in expanding and strengthening the SME sector. DFC is the development finance institution of the US federal government, primarily responsible for providing and facilitating the financing of private development projects in lower- and middle-income countries.

“The funding line comes at a time when the country requires long-term, stable funding to help the economy recover from the effects of the pandemic. The NDB is ideally placed to enhance the impact of the funding in conjunction with its flagship propositions Jayagamu Sri Lanka for uplifting entrepreneurship in SME and Vanithabhimani for uplifting women driven businesses. Further, the investments the group is making in technology, including, but not limited to, virtual KYC and digital payment platforms, will improve financial inclusivity and enable SME’s to seamlessly transact with NDB,” the bank said.

These investments advance DFC’s development strategy, the Roadmap for Impact, and are part of DFC’s 2X Women’s Initiative which aligns with NDB’s Banking on Women initiatives aimed at improving financial inclusivity, gender equity and supporting women led organisations.

"DFC is proud of our investment in National Development Bank, a leader in SME and gender-lens investing in Sri Lanka," said Algene Sajery, Vice President of DFC's Office of External Affairs and Head of Global Gender Equity Initiatives. "We applaud NDB Group’s ongoing commitment to unlocking the full economic potential of women in Sri Lanka, both by ensuring women are employed by and in senior management positions in their own organisation, and by committing to lending a portion of DFC’s loan to businesses that are owned by women, led by women, or provide a product or service that empowers women.”

Speaking on this transaction, Dimantha Seneviratne, Group CEO of NDB Group said; “While this is not the first time NDB has raised significant foreign funding, this is the first time we are borrowing from the US-based Development Finance Institution (DFI) whose development aspirations are aligned to that of NDB. Further the timing of the facility cannot be better, coming at a critical juncture in the economy impacted by the 3rd wave of the pandemic”.

DFC is the development finance institution of the US federal government, primarily responsible for providing and facilitating the financing of private development projects in lower- and middleincome countries.