Sri Lanka has published its inaugural annual report on the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, marking one year since becoming the first South Asian nation to adopt the global initiative in March 2025. The report documents significant progress in expanding financial access for women-led businesses.
Sri Lanka has released the first annual report on its Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code, reflecting progress in the country's effort to expand financial access for women entrepreneurs. Adopted in March 2025 with support from the Asian Development Bank, Sri Lanka became the first nation in South Asia to implement the global initiative. The report was published by the Department of Development Finance within the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
First-year results show substantial activity across the financial sector. According to the report, 13 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 period, these institutions approved 36,087 loans to women-led MSMEs totalling approximately LKR 145.5 billion.
Despite the progress, data reveal persistent disparities in financing. While women-owned or women-led MSMEs accounted for 30 percent of approved MSME loans by number, they represented only 20 percent of total approved loan value. This gap suggests that women entrepreneurs continue to receive smaller individual loans compared to their male counterparts. 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 initiative 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 MSME portfolios. Beyond financing, the report emphasises the importance of business planning, financial literacy, digital adoption and mentorship. A draft National Action Plan for Gender Inclusive Financing spanning May 2026 to May 2030 outlines a longer-term roadmap to strengthen support for women entrepreneurs.
