“Enterprise Sri Lanka” to be launched in March: Fin Min

Jan 12, 2018 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's Government will disburse 60 billion rupees through state and private banks while the Treasury will set aside 5 billion rupees to reimburse interest to banks as part of the Budget 2018's “Enterprise Sri Lanka” program to create new entrepreneurs. Minister of Finance and Mass Media MangalaSamaraweera said that one of the main proposals made in the budget to create entrepreneurs would be launched in March. He further said that those who obtain credit facilities would be given interest subsidy upto 75 percent of the effective interest rate. The government expects to disburse 60,000 million rupees through state and private banks to would be entrepreneurs and another 5000 million rupees has been set aside by the Treasury to reimburse the interest subsidy to the banks. Under this scheme15 different loan schemes have been proposed for young entrepreneurs in the fields of Agro, fishery industries and for small and medium enterprises. This scheme includes journalists and those who are self employed  as well In addition to young entrepreneurs, women and differentlyabled persons will also be provided special opportunity to take part in this program. Women and differentlyabled persons who come forward to take part in this programme will be offered additional  interests subsidy of 10 percent and 15 percent more respectively. The women will have to form a company at least with ten equity share holders and each share holder will have invested at least 10,000 rupees. The government will extend a comprehensive support package which includes both non-financial and financial assistance including grants and the credit through the enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes to these companies . Samaraweera, who held a discussion  yesterday with the heads and the chief executives of the state and private banks at the Treasury called upon all the banks to extend their fullest support  to implement this programme of the Government, to create new jobs through the expansion of Economy while aiming to expand the exports. The government expects the SME sector to be the backbone of the economy. However the lack of capital or the difficulty in accessing capital due to both the cost of capital and the requirement for collateral have been main the main impediments in the development of start ups of the SMEs.