Hatton National Bank Plc entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with International Executive Service Corps (IESC), who will implement the US Agency for International Development's (US AID) funded youth entrepreneurship and advancement programme called 'YouLead'. The four year project aims to transform youth employability in Sri Lanka and work closely with private sector partners to vastly improve technical and vocational education and training.

Through the partnership, HNB will work with IESC to enhance the business skills of young entrepreneurs and encourage youth led, start-up enterprises.

An essential component of the programme will be HNB's business support service, where the Bank will provide loans to youth led, start ups and small businesses that lack access to affordable capital or may not qualify for traditional sources of credit.

Deputy General Manager, SME of HNB, Jude Fernando said "HNB has played a pivotal role in its legacy of assisting Micro, Small and Medium Scale Entrepreneurs (MSME's) and we are delighted to partner 'YouLead' in this initiative of creating entrepreneurs among the unemployed. At HNB, we believe that strong communities are the foundation of a prosperous society.

Through our MSME initiatives, we find innovative commercial solutions that address social and civic challenges in communities across Sri Lanka. At HNB, we believe that strong communities are the foundation of a prosperous society. Through our MSME initiatives, we find innovative commercial solutions that address social and civic challenges in communities across Sri Lanka."

"This is a national responsibility of the Private Sector organizations in our Country and as a leading private sector financial institution, we at HNB understand the value of such a project and are happy to commit towards it", added Fernando.

HNB has been in the MSME banking space since 1973, offering a wide range of products & financial solutions to their customers. Beyond the formal banking operations and as part of their SME scope of work in revitalizing communities through access to finance,  HNB is very involved in educating entrepreneurs, facilitating their development and ensuring that they have adequate knowledge to make informed choices as entrepreneurs.

Photo caption: (From left) Shehara de Silva, Deputy Project Director / Partnership Director (IESC);  Harsha de Alwis, Entrepreneurship Director (IESC); Charles Conconi, Project Director, International Executive Service Corps (IESC); Jonathan Alles, Managing Director/CEO, HNB; Jude Fernando, Deputy General Manager, SME, HNB; Vishwa Gunawardena, Senior Manager, Development Banking, HNB and Bandara Rekogama, Senior Manager, Micro Finance, HNB