Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance recently said that the Enterprise Sri Lanka loan scheme has disbursed over Rs.78.62 billion among young entrepreneurs across Sri Lanka to date.

“Under the Enterprise Sri Lanka program implemented according to a concept of Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera with the objective to produce 100,000 entrepreneurs, 46,673 loans have been registered up to date and Rs. 78,621.6 million has been disbursed as loans” Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance in a statement said adding that most of the loans have been provided under the "Sonduru Piyasa" housing loan scheme. The number of such loans are 20,286. The statement further said that the "Ran Aswenna" and Govi Navoda" loan schemes implemented for farmers have a high demand. Accordingly, the loans given under "Ran Aswenna" amount to 17,484 while 3,337 loans have been provided under the "Govi Navoda" loan scheme.

Another 2,258 loans have been issued under the "Jaya Isura" loan scheme implemented with the objective to realize the dream of an own home. The statement also said that around 1,339 loans have been issued under the "Rivi Bala Savi" loan scheme to set up environmental friendly solar energy systems. "Madhya Aruna" loan scheme has granted loans to 661 journalists so far to purchase new media equipment and repair equipment.

The statement from the Ministry of Finance also said that "Enterprise Sri Lanka to Your Village" mobile service with the objective to popularize the program in the villages was launched from Weligama, Matara recently.

“Over 7,000 people participated in the first mobile service and 1,327 people have registered to obtain loans from the state banks established at the site. Plans are afoot to implement the mobile service island wide” the statement added.

Enterprise Sri Lanka, the government's concessionary loans scheme was launched on June 21, 2018. Steps have been taken to open Enterprise Sri Lanka counters at state and private banks in all provinces of the island including the North and East. By the end of last year 39,000 loans have been granted. The government has spent Rs. 5.25 billion to pay the interest on these loans in full or in part to the relevant banks.

A number of loan schemes with state subsidies has been launched under the program. Among them, "Dream House" loan scheme for the migrant workers to construct a house, "Home Sweet Home" scheme for newly married couples, "My Future" loan scheme for those who passed Advanced Level Studies to continue higher education are unique.

The statement said that this year, the government has allocated Rs. 6 billion to pay the interest on the loans given to recipients.