The Commercial Bank of Ceylon recently conducted ‘WomEntrepreneur,’ the first programme by the Bank in collaboration with the Women’s Chamber of Industry & Commerce (WCIC) exclusively for women entrepreneurs engaged in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with emphasis on steering a ‘vision towards sustainable business.’

The programme at the Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo, was attended by more than 125 female entrepreneurs who are either members of the WCIC or SME clients of the Bank. ‘WomEntrepreneur’ focused on how to evaluate and forecast one’s business in a professional manner while ensuring a steady business growth and continuity by minimising wastage.

It was inaugurated by Commercial Bank Managing Director and CEO, Mr S. Renganathan and the Bank’s Deputy General Manager – Personal Banking Mrs Sandra Walgama. Participants were welcomed to the knowledge sharing session by Mrs Chathuri Ranasinghe, Chairperson of the WCIC.

Presentations on ‘Sustainable energy and waste management,’ and ‘Business evaluation and forecasting’ were part of the programme. Additionally, a presentation on an ‘Employees Group Insurance Protection Policy,’ and cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, were made to the participants.

Among special participants were Ms Uresha Walpitagama, Project Manager and Consultant to the Sri Lanka Resident Mission of the Asian Development Bank and Mrs Zahra Carder, Director PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and a Board member of the WCIC.

The only Sri Lankan Bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1000 banks for nine years consecutively, Commercial Bank operates a network of 268 branches and 865 ATMs in Sri Lanka. The Bank has won over 80 international and local awards in 2018 and 2019, and was ranked among the 10 Most Admired Companies in Sri Lanka in 2019.

Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay PyiTaw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.