Reviving Growth in Sri Lanka: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Could be an Opportunity to Digitize Sri Lanka’s Economy

Together with Visa International, Colombo Initiative organized a closed door virtual roundtable meeting with Mr. Ajith Nivard Cabraal, Senior Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister, and banking and fin-tech leaders on the theme “Reviving Growth in Sri Lanka: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Could be an Opportunity to Digitize Sri Lanka’s Economy.”

The banking sector in Sri Lanka has been playing a crucial role during the COVID-19 crisis to serve the public and the SME sector in times of difficulty. In addition to the government-mandated debt moratoriums and offering working capital at reduced interest rates, facilities such as mobile banking services have provided individuals and small business owners with much-needed relief to face challenges during the crisis. Looking ahead to post-COVID-19 months and years, new strategies will have to be employed to help the economy get back on track. In doing so, insights of the banking sector will be crucial in the formulation of government strategies.

The objective of the virtual roundtable was to provide key industry leaders an exclusive opportunity, in a closed-door setting, to exchange ideas and suggestions with the Prime Minister’s Office on strategies that could help accelerate adoption across the country and support further digitization of the economy. The session was also serve as an opportunity for the industry to engage closer with the government to discuss digital initiatives as Sri Lanka prepares for the post COVID-19 economic revival.