National Microfinance Study of Sri Lanka: Survey of Practices and ...

Table 19 Loans By Age And Gender - TCCS & RRDB Matara
Age Group Loans to Loans to Total Loans %
(Years) Males Females
< 21
21-25
26-30
31-35
36-40
41-45
46-50
Over 50
30
332
320
583
980
90
101
9
22
232
136
226
737
78
75
12
52
564
456
809
1717
168
176
21
1.31
14.23
11.51
20.41
43.33
4.24
4.44
0.53
Total 2,445 1,518 3,963
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Although the project has been terminated, the credit program continued from the
year 2000 under the supervision of the Central Bank. The interest rate has been
reduced to twelve percent and a total of SLR 37.8 million was disbursed in the
year 2000.
It is recommended that:
there is a need for greater publicity for these schemes as it appears that the
lack of marketing and therefore public knowledge of the schemes is very low
and therefore ‘dulling’ demand. One real concern is that an organisation like
the ADB continues to support highly subsidised interest rates in such schemes
in direct variance to its recently approved microfinance strategy.
Rural Economic Advancement Program
REAP is the new wave of regional development programs created by the Ministry
of Plan Implementation to replace the IRDPs. The major focus of REAP is the
economic revival of the rural areas. REAP moves away from infrastructure
development and from social mobilisation directly into economic activity.
More importantly there is a departure from governmental implementation to
private sector implementation with a direct focus on entrepreneurs. Thus the
emphasis has moved away from microfinance to credit for SME start up and
development with larger loans.
The first REAP program was an IFAD funded project in Matale where due to
IFADs poverty mandate the project still contains a poverty focus as does its
microfinance component. The Central Bank receives the funds from the donor
IFAD and provides credit to six participating agencies: the Bank of Ceylon, the
Regional Development Banks, the Seylan Bank, the Sampath Bank, TCCS and
the Kandurata Development Bank, at four percent for on-lending to retail clients
at fourteen percent.
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