SDB to lend Rs 1 billion for micro finance in Jaffna
Ramani Kangaraarachchi
The SANASA Development Bank (SDB) hopes to lend one billion rupees
for the micro finance sector in Jaffna next year to support the Uthuru
Wasanthaya. SANASA Development Bank's General Manager, Nimal Mamaduwa
told Daily News Business.
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Nimal Mamaduwa |
He said that priority will be given mainly to the agricultural sector
and thereafter to the livestock and fisheries sectors.
There is a big demand for loans from farmers and traders to purchase
tractors and three- wheelers for agricultural projects. The bank would
lend another Rs 250 million in loans to the East and Rs 75 million to
Vavuniya.
The micro finance industry has performed fairly well in the past year
in those areas despite the recession, and there is a lot of potential in
the North in the coming year with the new development projects, he said.
Mamaduwa said that small scale traders and entrepreneurs had been
very concerned about their repayment of loans and there was no major
problem of recovery last year. A full fledged branch of SANASA Bank will
be opened in Jaffna City early next month and a number of employment
opportunities would be created where people in the area will be
recruited. The bank will concentrate mainly on the rural sector and
focus on the urban and estate sectors thereafter, Mamaduwa said. |
