Sri Lanka women entrepreneurship is being promoted through the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Line of Credit Project aided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) .
This ADB project in Sri Lanka is financed by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).
In April 2018, ADB received a $12.6 million grant from We-Fi which enabled the project to expand its gender-related impacts through greater access to finance, training, and mentorship for women-owned or led SMEs.
So far, 323 women-owned or led SMEs employing 3,934 people have financially benefitted from the We-Fi grant.
In addition, ADB will strengthen the technical capacity of a wide range of stakeholders, including government, banks, chambers of commerce, and SMEs to foster a women’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.
ADB invests in women’s entrepreneurship in Asia and the Pacific as part of its commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment, which is one of the operational priorities of its newly adopted Strategy 2030.
By 2030, it is expected that 75% of all ADB projects will promote gender equality.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
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