Sanjay Wijemanne, Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking, HNB (fourth from right), exchanging the MoU with Stephen A. Paulraj, Founder and Chairman, PPDO (third from right) in the presence of (from left) HNB Graduate Intern, Hasara Illankoon; Niluka T Amarasinghe, Head of SME Products and Partnerships, HNB; K. Indrawasan, Assistant General Manager – SME, HNB; and PPDO Consultancies Associates K. A. G Weeramunda; and S. J Perera.
HNB signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PPOD Consultancies to provide its SME customers with capacity development and consultancy in running key business functions.
The partnership enables HNB’s SME clientele to access much-needed consultation in accounting, finance, taxes, IT, value chain development, HR, and other specific capabilities concerning each industry. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the presence of Sanjay Wijemanne, Deputy General Manager – Retail and SME Banking, HNB, and Stephen A. Paulraj, Founder and Chairman, PPDO.
Niluka T Amarasinghe, Head of SME Products and Partnerships, HNB said, “We, at HNB, understand that to sustain a successful SME business, an entrepreneur needs much more than financial support and investment capital. Determining a business’s success, regardless of its scale, depends on said entrepreneur’s capability to run its key functions smoothly and efficiently. Given that HNB is a partner in all its client’s progress, we are excited to announce that we have partnered with PPOD Consultancies to provide our SME customers with fundamental capacity development sessions and consultancy to build and grow their SME successfully.”
The capacity development program initially covers general areas in business management and will be followed by a detailed session on specific business functions. Areas such as accounting, finance, taxes, and IT will be discussed in addition to key practices around issues in cash flow management, investment for expansion, poor tax payment practices, poor investment, and use of IT. Once the initial stage is completed, customers will have access to a knowledge base that assists them in building business development plans, including expansion and exports, upgrading facilities, HR and productivity management investments, and consolidations. The pro- gram’s content also discusses key concepts such as cash flow management and its importance, ratio analysis, bookkeep- ing, and tax basics to further enhance entrepreneurs’ financial literacy.
Stephen A. Paulraj, Founder and Chairman, PPDO stated, “As a premier consultancy firm assisting many organizations in unlocking the best in their people and processes, we are honored to take on this partnership with HNB. While pivotal, financial capital is not the only criterion that determines an organization’s success. Assisting entrepreneurs to develop capacity and skills that build a sustainable business is a rewarding experience, and partnering with a leader from the banking sector with us solidifies our mission in the country.”
