Women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka have more opportunities to access the WE Finance Code, which is being launched in the country. This makes Sri Lanka one of the first pilot countries to introduce the initiative.
The WE Finance Code, a global commitment delivered by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi), aims to improve access to finance for women and support their strong empowerment. The code is tailored to address the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s priorities for women entrepreneurs across three key Sri Lankan companies: fostering a policy and regulatory framework that focuses on women-led small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), encouraging private sector participation, including through digital solutions, and promoting peer-to-peer learning and knowledge sharing through new evidence.
The WE Finance Code was launched by the ADB in partnership with the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
Takafumi Kadono, ADB Country Director for Sri Lanka, emphasized that adopting the WE Finance Code is crucial to accelerating this initiative by establishing a national framework for entrepreneurship driven by data, leadership and innovation.
Commitment by financial service providers and government agencies to collect and analyze sex-disaggregated data will ensure that future policies and financial products are better tailored to the unique needs of this low-growth sector.
“The WE Finance Code is about more than data. However, it is also about the leadership and action of champions who commit their organizations to reporting and using data to invest in women entrepreneurs,” Kadono said.
Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, who attended the event, pointed out that the newly launched initiative is “transformative” in terms of creating a more inclusive and gender-equal financial system for financial institutions, policymakers and stakeholders.
“This initiative, which is aligned with global efforts to promote women’s economic empowerment, opens up new opportunities for women entrepreneurs, especially in the MSME sector, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to the broader economic development of Sri Lanka.”
Dr. Weerasinghe noted that the WE Finance Code can be promoted as a starting point under the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) and that there is strong synergy between the two efforts. Establishing a strategic framework for collaboration can ensure that Sri Lanka successfully achieves shared goals, and ultimately improve financial inclusion for all.
The broad objective of the NFIS is to create a financial system that is accessible, affordable and equitable for all.
“This aligns perfectly with the WE Financial Code initiative, as both share a common vision of promoting financial inclusion. It is not just about providing access to finance; it is about ensuring that the diverse needs of all segments of these members are met,” he said.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena advised that by implementing the WE Financial Code, Sri Lanka will ensure that it is aligned with the global movement towards financial gender inclusion and gender equality.
“This is not just a policy change – it is a fundamental economic transformation,” he said.
According to him, this initiative will help Sri Lanka improve financial stability by ensuring that more businesses are run by women, promote innovation and entrepreneurship by allowing women to grow, and improve overall economic activity by making the business sector more active.
One of the biggest challenges in addressing financial inequality for women-led businesses in Sri Lanka is the lack of reliable, gender-disaggregated data.
The lack of accurate data makes it difficult for policymakers and financial institutions to identify and address barriers to financial inclusion, understand the unique needs of women entrepreneurs, plan financial strategies, and track progress in real-time.
The WE Financial Code requires all banks and financial institutions to systematically collect and report gender-disaggregated data to the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). The CBSL will act as the national repository for financial data, ensuring that financial policies are based on open, evidence-based understanding rather than assumptions.
“This data-driven approach will allow us to fine-tune our policies, provide the necessary disclosures and ultimately create a more inclusive financial system,” Treasury Secretary Steven M.
