IFC to lend financial aid to small businesses in the Maldives and Sri Lanka

International Finance Corporation (IFC) has decided to lend financial aid to small businesses in the Maldives and Sri Lanka to better facilitate such enterprises to access sophisticated financial products.

A member of the World Bank Group, IFC usually lends financial support to large enterprises. Some of the notable contributions of IFC to the Maldives include their assistance in the privatization of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) and financial aid provided to the private conglomerate Villa Group.

IFC had just completed training program for bankers from the two countries under its Global Trade Finance Advisory Program, which was funded by Japan.

"It is important for bankers to continuously increase their knowledge in trade finance to stay competitive," IFC quoted Suguru Minoya, head of economic cooperation, Embassy of Japan in Colombo as saying.

Learning to identify and mitigate operational risks by adopting international best practices in trade finance is important, IFC said.

"IFC’s trade finance advisory program helps bankers keep pace with developments in global financial markets," Adam Sack, IFC Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives said in a statement.

Adam Sack said that the IFC will continue to work with financial institutions through training programs to boost trade expertise and support trade flows.