The South Asia Micro-Entrepreneurs Network (SAMN), represented by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka held its third SAMN Biennial Conference in Colombo for the first time at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel last week.
LOLC Group Managing Director/CEO, Kapila Jayawardena said, “We are truly delighted to have come forward to become a part of the SAMN Biennial Conference 2018 as Gold Sponsors and we look forward to an enlightening experience through unique networking opportunities and thought provoking discussions.
“The conference will provide a great platform for intellects and experts to share their experiences and strategies,and I hope that this program will inspire future directions in financial inclusion which is a key enabler for alleviating poverty,” he said. SAMN, set up in 2008 as a pan regional forum where South Asian pioneers learn from one another to move in a direction to strengthen regional collaboration and interaction, is identified as the thought leadership on financial inclusion in South Asia. The LOLC Group, renowned for its microfinance model was the Gold Sponsor of the Conference, that probes the progress and explores the possibilities for accelerating financial inclusion, on the theme of ‘Deepening Financial Inclusion in South Asia’.
The two-day program brought together leading microfinance practitioners, donors, investors, research organisations and private sector players devoted to promoting inclusive finance, from the South Asian region to exchange knowledge and stimulate debate. The Conference was hosted by the Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association (LMFPA), the apex umbrella oragnisation of Sri Lankan microfinance institutions. The previous SAMN Conferences were held in Islamabad in 2014 and in Delhi in 2016.
LOLC’s microfinance business model and its success stories in countries such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and Pakistan continues to transform and enable Micro businesses to become Small and Medium level enterprises through sustainable industrialisation.