Sri Lanka has taken a significant step towards strengthening financial inclusion and supporting women-led businesses with the publication of its first annual report on the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Code (WE Finance Code). The report highlights progress made during the first year of implementation while identifying areas requiring further attention to improve access to finance and support the growth of women-owned and women-led enterprises.

Published by the Department of Development Finance of the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the Annual Report 2025/2026 provides an overview of the Code’s initial implementation and achievements. Sri Lanka adopted the WE Finance Code nationally in March 2025 with technical assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), becoming the first country in South Asia to adopt the global initiative.

Establishing a National Framework for Women-Owned Businesses

A key achievement under the initiative has been the introduction of Sri Lanka’s first unified national definition of women-owned and women-led businesses.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has incorporated this definition, together with gender-disaggregated data reporting requirements, into a circular issued to financial institutions. Under the new framework, financial institutions are required to collect and report gender-specific data relating to their micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) portfolios.

The standardised approach is expected to provide policymakers and financial institutions with more reliable information to identify financing gaps and design financial products and services that better address the needs of women entrepreneurs.

Expanding Access to Finance

The WE Finance Code brings together government institutions, regulators, financial institutions, development partners and other stakeholders to address the financial and structural challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.

The initiative focuses on increasing financing for women-led MSMEs, strengthening the availability of gender-disaggregated data, expanding non-financial business support and developing a more supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem.

According to the inaugural report, 13 participating financial institutions served more than 965,000 MSME business credit customers, including over 200,000 women-owned or women-led MSMEs.

During the reporting period, financial institutions approved 36,087 business loans for women-owned or women-led MSMEs, with a combined value of approximately LKR 145.5 billion.

However, the report also highlights an important financing gap. Women-owned and women-led MSMEs accounted for 30% of approved MSME business loans by number, but represented only 20% of the total value of approved loans. This suggests that further efforts are required to improve not only access to credit but also the scale and suitability of financing available to women entrepreneurs.

Addressing Wider Barriers to Entrepreneurship

The report notes that access to finance is only one aspect of the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka.

Women account for 34% of the country’s economically active population, with women-led businesses operating across sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, exports, services, retail and small-scale enterprise. Nevertheless, many entrepreneurs continue to face barriers such as limited access to credit, insufficient collateral, low levels of digital adoption, limited market connections and challenges associated with entering the formal financial system.

To address these challenges, the initiative also places emphasis on business planning, financial literacy, digitalisation, business formalisation, market access and mentorship.

Long-Term Roadmap for Gender-Inclusive Financing

The annual report also introduces the Draft National Action Plan for Gender Inclusive Financing in Sri Lanka, covering the period from May 2026 to May 2030.

The proposed action plan provides a longer-term framework for expanding financing opportunities for women entrepreneurs while strengthening the broader ecosystem required for sustainable business growth.

Zahra Cader, ESG, Government & Public Services Leader at Deloitte Sri Lanka and Maldives, described the publication of the report as an important step towards transforming commitments into measurable outcomes. She noted that the report provides stakeholders with stronger evidence to understand the needs of women entrepreneurs and improve the targeting of support initiatives.

Strengthening Collaboration for Inclusive Economic Growth

Deloitte has supported the implementation and operationalisation of the WE Finance Code in Sri Lanka, including the development of the national definition, the framework for gender-disaggregated financial reporting and efforts to bring together stakeholders from the public, private and financial sectors.

Looking ahead, continued collaboration between government agencies, financial institutions, development partners and the private sector will be essential to build on the progress achieved during the Code’s first year.

By improving access to appropriate financing, strengthening business capabilities and creating stronger market opportunities, Sri Lanka aims to enable more women-owned and women-led businesses to grow competitively and contribute more significantly to the country’s economic development.