Loans from YBSL:

For women entrepreneurs in Kandy

Youth Business Sri Lanka, a youth entrepreneur assistance program at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, provided loans of Rs. 250,000 to women entrepreneurs in Kandy to start and expand their business, a spokesman for the YBSL said.

Organized and coordinated by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Central Province, ten women who have been trained under the GAP skill development programme received these loans, last week.

As a corporate social responsibility initiative of the international apparel company, GAP Inc, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce is implementing a skill development programme in the districts of Kandy and Galle together with the respective district chambers.

The GAP program targets the immediate women family members of the GAP employees in the Kandy District and provides them with a comprehensive skill development and exposure on a chosen trade.

The CCC, so far have conducted over thirty five such programs and trained over 400 women in both the districts.

The YBSL program supports enterprising youth who has a viable business plan, aged between 18-35 years, but do not have collateral to raise funds; through a concessionary credit facility for business start up and expansion.

The initial credit assistance is limited to fifty thousand rupees and to be paid back in twelve months.

The specialties of the YBSL credit programme are that the loans are given based on the viability of the proposed business. In addition, the enterprising youth is linked to an experienced business person as a mentor.

The YBSL experience with other district programs shows that over 80% of the businesses have succeeded because of the advice given by the mentor.

This mentoring has become very significant, when youth tries to tackle the modern day complexities of business start up, and mentors provide business advice voluntarily.

The credit assistance for the YBSL Kandy program is given by Confederation of Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (CACCI Foundation). Youth Business Sri Lanka (www.ybsl.lk) is an accredited program of Youth Business International (YBI), a charity dedicated to supporting young entrepreneurs and is the leadership body for a network of youth business programs implemented in 40 countries.