Microfinance Horizon

28 November 2010 [TheSundayLeader]

LOLC Micro Credit Ltd. (LOMC), Lanka ORIX Leasing Company PLC’s (LOLC’s) micro finance company, held its inaugural Isuru Diriya Sisu Upahara Scholarship Awards Ceremony at its Head Office recently. The event was attended by Education Minister Bandula Gunawardhana (Chief Guest) who distributed gifts among the students.

LOLC Group Deputy Chairperson  Ishara Nanayakkara, Executive Director  Mrs. Kalsha Amarasinghe, Managing Director Kapila Jayawardena and LOLC Micro Credit Ltd. (LOMC) Director/CEO Ravi Tissera were amongst the distinguished guests at the event.

The exceptional exam results obtained by P.M Navanjana Pabasari from Chilaw, G.K.G.C Dilshan De Samarasinghe (Aralaganwila) and R.D Supunsara Dissanayake (Nikaweratiya) were among the 27 students recognized and rewarded at the ceremony.

Isuru Diriya Sisu Upahara (IDSU) is LOMC’s chief CSR initiative, where it felicitates and supports students’ exceptional educational achievements showcased at the recently concluded Grade 5 Scholarship Exam. LOMC customers’ children, mainly comprising rural based farming and entrepreneurial communities’ SME and Micro sectors – were also felicitated, making this an extra special event. Prior to the exam, Divulapitiya Isuru Diriya Centre (IDC) organized a special scholarship exam preparatory seminar for the community’s children as its CSR initiative.

Tissera sharing his views on the scholarship awards ceremony said,“ Isuru Diriya Sisu Upahara is our first step towards developing the communities that we serve. By supporting the educational needs and skills of children at the grassroots level, we hope to take our CSR initiative a step further. Although it is an LOMC first, our parent company is not new to the education sector. LOLC is already involved in providing Business English and IT education to the rural masses.  Similarly, we want to invest in bringing the communities’ children we serve to the forefront of the country’s development process.”

LOMC’s fruitful journey began a year ago when it partnered with the internationally triple rated FMO- The Netherlands Development Finance Company – supported by the Dutch Government. To support the entrepreneurial interests that were emerging from Sri Lanka’s grassroots communities, LOMC was granted US$ 10Mn by FMO.  As LOMC’s micro credit portfolio demonstrated a successful growth in the ensuing months, other well respected multilateral agencies in the international development sector such as, the Triodos Bank-Netherlands, Symbiotics-Switzerland and Triple Jump-Netherlands also united with LOMC to strengthen its services further and to provide expertise on sustainability measures.

Managing Director Jayawardena said, “In 2003 we stepped into fill the void for micro credit by financing solar systems for rural Sri Lankan homes that were not connected to the main grid. From this initial start, LOLC reached into the very heart of the country penetrating into innermost rural communities. The company saw great potential in developing and sustaining the entrepreneurial interests that were emerging from this sector which were not initially supported by the formal financial sector at the time. As a result, LOMC came into being in 2009.”

As LOLC’s micro financing services displayed an immense growth, the relationships built with the communities also strengthened over the years. As a business expansion strategy LOMC IDCs were set up consequent to the strategic partnership established between LOLC and Sri Lanka Post, to offer micro credit services to rural communities in interior locations across the country.  With a vast network of over 600 post offices and more than 3,000 sub-post offices islandwide, Sri Lanka Post has given LOMC the opportunity to reach the rural masses in the country. Cementing its success, LOMC recently opened its 50th IDC outlet in Bingiriya with rapid expansion plans intended in the ensuing months.