Sri Lanka releases first annual report on Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, showing early progress in financial access

Sri Lanka has published its inaugural annual report on the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, marking the first year of implementation since the country became South Asia's first adopter of the global initiative in March 2025.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has released the first annual report on the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, documenting progress in expanding financial access for women-owned and women-led enterprises. The country adopted the Code nationally in March 2025 with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank, becoming the first nation in South Asia to implement the global framework.

Data from the inaugural report shows encouraging initial results. According to the Ministry, thirteen signatory financial institutions served over 965,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprise customers, of which more than 200,000 were women-owned or women-led businesses. During the reporting period, financial institutions approved 36,087 business loans to women entrepreneurs totalling approximately 145.5 billion Sri Lankan rupees.

However, disparities remain in lending patterns. While women-led MSMEs accounted for 30 percent of approved loans by number, they represented only 20 percent of total approved loan value, indicating that women entrepreneurs continue to access smaller loan amounts on average. The report attributes ongoing challenges to limited access to credit, lack of collateral, low digital adoption and difficulties entering formal financial systems.

A cornerstone of the Code is Sri Lanka's first unified national definition for women-owned and women-led businesses. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka incorporated this definition into a circular requiring financial institutions to collect and report gender-disaggregated data on their MSME portfolios, establishing a consistent basis for identifying financing gaps and developing targeted solutions.

Beyond credit access, the report emphasises the importance of business planning, financial literacy and market linkages. The government has introduced a Draft National Action Plan for Gender Inclusive Financing spanning May 2026 to May 2030, providing a roadmap to expand financing opportunities and strengthen support systems for women entrepreneurs moving forward.