Courtesy Adaderana

The government has decided to facilitate working capital loans up to Rs. 10 million for small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs from 08 state-owned and private banks, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies says.

These entrepreneurs can obtain working capital loans on 11% – 12% interest with a grace period of 06 months and a three-year payment gateway.

The Asian Development Bank’s Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises Line of Credit (SMELoC) Project is currently providing loan facilities under three components, namely SME Credit Line, Tea Smallholder Credit Line and Emergency Response Facility.

Accordingly, USD 13.5 million (LKR 4,900 million) of funds from the ADB has been disbursed to the relevant banks for this purpose.

Rs. 612 million has been distributed to each bank since October 05, 2022, the ministry said further in its statement.

The working capital loans can be obtained from the following 08 banks:
1. Bank of Ceylon
2. Regional Development Bank
3. Hatton National Bank
4. Commercial Bank
5. Seylan Bank
6. National Development Bank
7. Nations Trust Bank
8. Sampath Bank