Support to Establish an Entrepreneur Financial Centre in Sri Lanka

This project aims to increase the capacity of the SANASA movement (the largest cooperative credit association in Sri Lanka) to provide tailored financial and non-financial products and services to micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in four selected value chains. Of the new MSMEs targeted at least 40% will be led by women. Project activities include: (1) establishing an Entrepreneur Financial Centre; (2) providing smallholder producers and micro-entrepreneurs with non-financial services such as training and sector-specific technical advice; (3) developing or adapting specialized financing products for MSMEs; (4) linking MSMEs in selected value chains to large-scale enterprises and end users; (5) convening co-operative sector actors (e.g. through workshops roundtable discussions) and drafting an advocacy policy on the role of the cooperative sector in supporting MSMEs to be shared with the regulatory authorities.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved financial and management capacity of smallholder producers and micro-entrepreneurs particularly women in targeted value chains; (2) increased provision by the SANASA movement of adapted financial and non-financial services to existing and new MSMEs; and (3) increased recognitions by the Sri Lankan authorities of the cooperatives contribution to effective MSME finance.