Seylan Bank, the Bank with a Heart, recently conducted two webinars both during and after the nationwide lockdown, in an effort to continuously support Small and Medium Enterprises in Sri Lanka while ensuring being part of their post COVID-19 journey. The webinars offered the businesses advice on how to best recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and also addressed key areas such as liquidity management, supply chain management and use of new technology for better business processes.
The webinars were conducted under the topics ‘The impact of COVID-19 on the Sri Lankan economy’ and ‘How to reshape/ redefine business strategy amidst new challenges’. As the bank with a heart, Seylan Bank works to ensure that the SME community has the necessary support to respond, grow and succeed within today’s economic context. Having clearly understood the existing requirements of the SME Sector, Seylan Bank arranged both webinars in Sinhala and Tamil respectively, ensuring inclusivity by catering to both the Sinhala and Tamil business community, thereby covering the majority of SME owners in Sri Lanka, a significantly wider audience. The Tamil webinar was the first of its kind to be held in Sri Lanka for the SME sector. With a collective attendance of 300 people from across the SME sector, the webinars were designed to uplift and encourage Small and Medium Enterprises.
Facilitated by Mr. Hasitha Wijesundara - Senior Economist and Advisor of SME Development, the first webinar had a total attendance of 125 active participants. The second webinar, facilitated by Mr. Suthakaran Perambalam - Director, Research and Consumer Insights Unit, Sparkwin Research, had 175 participants in total. They offered useful insights, guidance and practical approaches towards coping with the new challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Understanding that the SME sector is the backbone of the Sri Lankan economy, Seylan Bank aims to foster a resilient and thriving SME sector in Sri Lanka. Throughout the years, Seylan Bank has been fully committed towards supporting the development of SMEs through various initiatives and relief schemes targeted at aiding and strengthening them, ensuring their successful growth. These service excellences are catered through Seylan’s island-wide network of 172 branches and Regional Credit Hubs staffed with skilled professionals, ensuring maximum customer convenience and unparalleled service to the bank’s SME clientele.
