Business

ADB loans serve as big push for SMEs in the hinterland of Sri Lanka

Published

3 years ago

2023/05/19

Thilina Walpola

Timely funds rekindle the spirit of entrepreneurship

by Sanath Nanayakkare

As a multilateral bank the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has supported the SME sector in the country for a long time with many lending products and capacity building assistance. The Island Financial Review recently had the opportunity to meet with beneficiaries of five SME projects recently supported by the ADB in areas of the southern province far away from the cities. It was clear that ADB’s timely funds were quintessentially empowering the spirit of entrepreneurship in the hinterland.

These five beneficiary SMEs were from Karandeniya, Ambalangoda, Habaraduwa, Elpitiya and Thalgampala. They are actively and full-time engaged in different businesses, namely; cinnamon quilling and processing, coir product manufacturing and exporting, Ayurveda product manufacturing and exporting, spice production/sales and Orthodox black tea manufacturing. There were two successful women entrepreneurs among them who had built profitable businesses while creating a significant number of jobs for the youth in their areas. The following is a brief account of each of the SMEs served by ADB funds.

Pradeep Premaratne in Karandeniya operates a small yet successful cinnamon quilling and processing facility at his house with the support of his wife. The Regional Development Bank (RDB) one of the 13 participating banks to whom ADB funds are routed through the Ministry of Finance, had given a LKR 1.5 million loan to Pradeep as a working capital facility. It was a collateral free loan at an interest of 11.5%. Pradeep and his wife who earlier made cinnamon sticks from 100 kilos of raw cinnamon trees today employ 5 – 7 workers and process 300-500 kilos of raw tree per day and supplies about 850 kilos of finished sticks to the market for export on a monthly basis. He said that his monthly earnings had increased by about four fold as a result of the ADB working capital loan.

M.C De Zoysa, Managing Director- M.C Enterprises in Idantota, Ambalangoda received an ADB loan of LKR 10 million through Seylan Bank for his coir product manufacturing and exporting business. He received the loan during the covid pandemic period and he described the loan as a great ‘prop up’ at the time. “During the pandemic, people in many countries started growing their own food and the demand for coco peat for garden plants saw a phenomenal increase. ADB working capital loan I received enabled me to expand my production and meet the increased demand. The profits I made were re-invested for purchasing new machinery. If not for the ADB loan, I wouldn’t have been able to take advantage from that situation.”

He exports 30- 50 containers of coconut and coir-based products per month to South Korea, the Middle East, U.S.A. and China. The factory provides 75 direct jobs and more than 3000 indirect jobs. Zoysa is planning to expand his factory space and install a transformer while exploring solar power solutions for his operations.

Woman entrepreneur Supuli Karunaratne, managing director at Nature Healing Ayur (Pvt) Ltd in Habaraduwa received a loan of LKR 4 million and a grant of LKR 1 million under ADB’s Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative to expand her business in herbal food supplements manufacturing and exporting. Today she owns a new capsule filling machine with the capacity to fill 3,000 capsules in one hour which has significantly reduced her manual workforce. She exports health supplement products to countries such as Switzerland, Lithuania, Japan, and the Maldives.

Woman entrepreneur Chandanie Samanthi, director at Thalgampala Thunapaha (Pvt) Ltd received an ADB loan of LKR 3 million as a working loan facility through Nations Trust Bank. “My company with the support of my husband and staff achieved 30% growth this year compared to Year 2021 and I expect significant growth in the next 12 months. I am planning to expand our outlets network to Colombo and Jaffna in the coming years. Now we produce about 3,000 kilos of spice per day and sell just about the same volume while having a surplus stock at any given time. We are striving to attract higher customer appeal for the brand each year and we will position Thalgampala Thunapaha as the best Sri Lankan spice brand by 2029.”

Anura de Siva, chairman/managing director at Marakanda Tea Factory in Elpitiya of Evergreen Group received an ADB loan of LKR 10 million through DFCC Bank in Galle as a working capital facility.

Evergreen Group Accountant Danuka Dassanayake said,” The total loan amount we obtained from DFCC was LKR 35 million. Out of that we obtained refinance of Rs. 10 million from ADB at an interest rate of 4.75%. The total funds were used for building our CTC factory and purchase CTC machinery. The ADB loan share reduced our interest cost significantly making a positive impact on our finances and making our journey easier.”

Senal de Silva, director of the Group said that there are 13 factories in the Group and they contribute 4% of the total national tea export volume. “We acquired Marakanda at a time it had been closed down. We have been able to turn it around to a better position but it is still the weakest in the Group. However, it remains resilient thanks to the strength of the Group. Marakanda faces the issue of procurement of good tea leaf from the area. Other than that everything is stable. Tea smallholders do not care about the fact that harvesting methodology has a huge impact on the quality of the tea and its grading as per export-market benchmarks. I think that the government has a role to play in creating awareness among them and to educate them on the right balance between quality and quantity when providing their yield to factories for processing. There is fierce competition among the tea factories to procure tea leaf, therefore, tea smallholders are tempted to cut corners because they can supply anything to the factories. This should be corrected through the intervention of the authorities,” he said.

Marakanda tea factory employs 70 workers on a daily basis while the Group employs a total of 1,500 workforce.

SME Line of Credit Project of the ADB has three tranches which provide USD 340 million of assistance to the SME sector commencing from 2016. The first disbursement of USD 100 million and the second disbursement of USD 75 million through additional financing have already been utilized. The third disbursement through another additional financing of USD 165 million is currently being utilized by the participating banks to provide further access to finance SMEs.

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Business

Cross-border supply chains seen as key to new business opportunities

Published

14 hours ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Dignitaries at the launching of the new dhal processing factory.

By Ifham Nizam

Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Matthew Duckworth described Omega Traders’ latest investment in a modern dhal-processing facility as a strong example of how cross-border supply chains can translate into productive investment, local value addition and new business opportunities in Sri Lanka.

The investment, which adds a 150-metric-tonne-per-eight-hour-day processing capacity to Omega Traders’ operations, marks a significant expansion of the company’s manufacturing footprint as it celebrates 45 years in Sri Lanka’s food commodity industry.

Speaking at the inauguration of the new Lentil and Orid Dhal Processing Factory in Wattala, last Friday, H.C. Duckworth said the facility represented more than an increase in production capacity, pointing to the wider economic value created when Australian agricultural production is connected with Sri Lankan processing and distribution.

‘This facility is not operating on its own. It is part of a long supply chain and a trade partnership between Sri Lanka and Australia, Duckworth said.

His comments placed the Omega Traders’ investment within a broader commercial context: Australia brings agricultural production and established export capabilities, while Sri Lanka provides processing capacity, labour, market access and opportunities for further value addition.

The investment comes as Sri Lanka continues to look towards greater domestic processing and value-added manufacturing rather than relying solely on the import and distribution of finished commodities.

Dr. (Mrs.) Siddhika G. Senaratne, Director General/CEO of the Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI), who attended the inauguration as Guest of Honour, highlighted the importance of quality assurance in food processing and the role of standards in maintaining confidence across the supply chain.

The facility is equipped with new-generation cleaning, processing, sorting and quality-control machinery, including advanced colour-sorting technology, automated systems and an in-house quality-control laboratory.

The additional capacity will support Omega Traders’ three principal Mysoor Dhal brands — Rainbow Jumbo Dhal, Komas Dhal and Rozanna Dhal — which serve different segments of the Sri Lankan market.

But the investment also has a distinctly local agricultural dimension.

Through its Orid Dhal operation, Omega Traders plans to source locally grown black matpe from Sri Lankan farmers and process it at the new facility.

That creates a domestic value chain linking farmers to industrial processing and consumers, while potentially increasing demand for locally produced agricultural commodities.

Duckworth said this type of business partnership could generate benefits for both countries.

‘Australia produces some of the world’s best agricultural products and we are very efficient and very capable at trading them. But that alone is not going to bring success to Australia. Just as building a factory like this is not going to bring success to Sri Lanka, he said.

‘It’s when we bring these entities together that our products produced in Australia can be processed in excellence here in Sri Lanka that enables this to be a success, the H.C. explained.

The investment therefore combines two complementary supply streams: imported agricultural commodities, including Australian-origin products, and locally produced black matpe for the Orid Dhal operation.

For Sri Lanka, the business significance extends beyond Omega Traders itself. Increased processing capacity creates demand for logistics, packaging, distribution, services and agricultural inputs, while supporting employment within the food-processing ecosystem.

Business

Ideal Motors makes history with multiple workplace excellence accolades

Published

14 hours ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Representatives from Ideal Motors (Pvt) Ltd receive top organizational culture and workplace accolades at the Great Place to Work® 2026 awards ceremony.

HR-led transformation places people, culture and business performance at the heart of the organisation

Ideal Motors (Pvt) Ltd,has achieved a significant milestone by securing multiple prestigious workplace and organisational culture accolades in 2026, reinforcing its position as an employer of choice in Sri Lanka’s automotive sector.

Among its latest achievements, Ideal Motors has been recognised as one of the 20 Great Workplaces for Young Talent in Sri Lanka 2026, ranked No. 1 and awarded the Gold Medal in the Small and Medium category of Best Workplaces™ in Sri Lanka 2026, and ranked No. 18 among Best Workplaces™ in Asia in the Medium Scale category—the highest-ranked Sri Lankan organisation in the category. The company also received Industry Excellence for Workplace Culture – Trading Industry.

The Young Talent recognition was presented at the Great Place To Work® CXO Forum 2026 held on 10 September 2026 at Cinnamon Life, Colombo. The recognition followed an evaluation of more than 100 certified organisations and highlights workplaces that create meaningful opportunities for employees under 35 to develop, contribute and grow.

At the Best Workplaces™ in Sri Lanka Awards Gala 2026, held on 11 September 2026 at Cinnamon Life, Colombo, Ideal Motors achieved another historic milestone by entering the Best Workplaces Sri Lanka list for the first time and securing the No. 1 Gold Medal in the Small and Medium category. The company also achieved No. 18 in Best Workplaces™ in Asia, reflecting the strength of its workplace culture beyond Sri Lanka.

These achievements represent more than a collection of awards. They reflect the transformation taking place within Ideal Motors, where people, culture and business performance are increasingly viewed as interconnected drivers of sustainable growth.

Over the past few years, the organisation’s HR function has evolved from a predominantly administrative role into a strategic business partner, with greater emphasis on employee experience, capability development, engagement, performance, communication, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and data-driven HR practices.

Business

AAC takes seat belt safety message to Colombo motorists

Published

14 hours ago

2026/09/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

AAC staff distribute seat belt safety material to motorists on Galle Face Centre Road, Colombo.

The Automobile Association of Ceylon (AAC) conducted a seat belt safety awareness programme in front of its headquarters and along Galle Face Centre Road, encouraging motorists and passengers to make seat belt use a habit on every journey.

AAC staff, working alongside officers of the Sri Lanka Police Traffic Division, distributed specially designed hanging tags and stickers to drivers. The material carries a clear reminder that seat belts protect drivers as well as passengers in both the front and rear seats.

The public awareness drive was held ahead of the requirement taking effect on 20 September 2026, under which seat belt use becomes mandatory for every occupant of a vehicle travelling on an expressway.

AAC emphasized that the regulation should be understood as a life-saving measure rather than only a legal obligation. Wearing a seat belt can help prevent occupants from being thrown inside or from a vehicle during a collision and can lessen the severity of injuries.

The Association said road safety legislation must be supported by sustained public education, visible enforcement and responsible behaviour by all road users. The participation of the Traffic Police helped the campaign reach motorists directly in a busy part of central Colombo.