Big and Small

May 7, 2007 (LBO) – A local bank and an international micro-finance specialist have tied up with the world's largest bank to widen banking access to local micro enterprises, officials said Monday. Citigroup Foundation with the Foundation for Development Co-operation (FDC) and Banking with a Poor Network (BWTP) is helping micro-finance organizations build links with companies and government organizations and large financial institutions.

We have considerable amount of money to invest in our micro finance activity with so many banks and other donating organizations. What we need is technical support to approach people, says the Chairman of BWTP Chandula Abeywickrema.

Banking with a Poor Network will be giving support in this aspect.

Abeywickrema who is also a senior official of Hatton National Bank said his bank had lent 3.5 billion rupees in micro finance in the last 17 years.

A grant worth 570,000 dollars by the Citifoundation will be used by the FDC and BWTP to expand micro-finance services across 10 Asian countries including Sri Lanka.

The project’s objective is to pool and disseminate knowledge, skills, tools and know how in the application linkages an