The Enterprise Sri Lanka programme that targets to create one hundred thousand entrepreneurs by giving low-interest capital throughout the island has become successful.

Over 7000 business minded persons participated in the first Enterprise SL mobile service programs held under the patronage of Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera at Weligama on March 23 and 24.
Three State Banks identified 1,327 prospective business persons out of the total visitors participated in this mobile service as eligible to obtain loans. Bank of Ceylon registered 620 would be entrepreneurs to grant loans while People’s Bank registered 300 similar persons to provide loans. In addition, the Rural Development Bank registered 387 such entrepreneurial applicants for loans.
Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera proposed in his last year’s budget to provide low interest loans up to 750 million rupees under different loan schemes to enable prospective persons to set up business ventures and industries. Under this program, it is compulsory for the loan applicants to submit business proposals to the respective banks. However, many such applicants are facing difficulties as they have no understanding and sufficient knowledge to prepare such business proposals. Therefore, the ongoing Enterprise Sri Lanka Mobile Service has made arrangements to solve this problem. The assistance of university undergraduates was obtained to prepare 45 business proposals for the needy entrepreneurs during this Mobile Service in Weligama.
Southern Province is popular for tourism therefore 450 persons who were willing to open business ventures related to hospitality industry in the province were registered with state banks. On-the-spot loans were approved for 50 of the total registered applicants to tart with “Homestay” project under which persons who are willing to run Home stays for tourist can obtain loan upto Rs 5 million at the concessionary interest rate of 6 percent. The rest of the applicants under this category will be granted necessary loans after the officers of the Tourism Development Authority made field visits.
Mobile offices of Tourism Development Board, Export Development Board and Industrial Development Board were also operated as approval should be obtained from certain government institutions to open some business ventures
Significance in this Mobile Service is that the loan applicants were assisted to prepare all the necessary documents required by the respective state banks.
39,000 persons have been granted capital loans for 60,000 million rupees under various categories of loan schemes of Enterprise Sri Lanka program in 2018. The program has been extended further in the year 2019 thereby allocating 6100 million rupees just to pay the interest subsidy for such loans.
Loan schemes provided under Enterprise Sri Lanka has covered several sectors of development in the country and, among them are Agriculture, Small and Medium Enterprises, Housing and Construction and Caregiving Services.
The Finance Ministry expects these concessionary loan schemes to create one hundred thousand new entrepreneurs throughout the country and this would contribute to the growth of the national economic development.