Sampath Bank’s new helpline for Business Start-up Advisory Services
View(s):Sampath Bank PLC has launched a helpline for Business Start-up Advisory Services under its flagship entrepreneurship development programme, ‘Sampath Saviya’.
In a media release, the bank said that focusing on the critical incubation period during which early-stage businesses tend to face heightened levels of challenges, the new initiative seeks to facilitate the business incubation process. Playing an advisory role, Sampath Bank will be offering much needed guidance and support to help start-ups establish their businesses and commence operations.
Sampath Bank said it is geared to offer guidance on early-stage business planning and registration. Further they provide information to connect with the institutions which assist business start-ups, build relationships with the bank and the learning programmes on business development.
“Right from our inception, we at Sampath Bank have always believed in the entrepreneurial spirit of our fellow Sri Lankans and sought to support them through every stage of their growth story. Going beyond offering innovative financial solutions and services, we continue to seek more ways in which we can deliver greater value to them. The ‘Sampath Saviya’ Entrepreneurship Development programme has been one of the key pillars of our efforts in this regard,” said Thusitha Nakandala, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Sampath Bank PLC.
The ‘Sampath Saviya’ programme was launched in 2013 with the aim of supporting the nation’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship and build a strong Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprise (MSME) sector that serves as a key driver of economic growth.
Since then, it has grown into a key pillar of the bank’s community outreach efforts to emerge as its flagship entrepreneurship development programme. The programme has brought a significant positive transformation in the communities throughout the period, the release said.
The bank hosts a series of complimentary ‘Sampath Saviya’ MSME development workshops around the island where senior representatives from within Sampath Bank and subject matter experts from outside offer advice and guidance on a wide range of topics. With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank shifted the entire programme online, engaging MSMEs as well as university students through a series of webinars.