new opportunities for growth. crop agriculture, the dairy industry, fishing industry and livestock are three key areas, which can make a significant contribution to growth. women ’ s participation in each of these activities is estimated to be high and there are clear opportunities for women, seeking banking and financial services. it is time to prepare a comprehensive plan and that should have new entry points to accommodate women ’ s financial requirements. some of the new entry points include the following : • information technology application and usage : the phenomenal growth in the telecommunication industry, particularly in the mobile telephone sector, could serve as the main platform to enhance the delivery of credit to women and girls. sri lanka is fast moving towards a technology savvy population. however, many women and girls still do not use computers and newer payment modes available through mobile phones and cards. in india and bangladesh, many disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, women and children in particular, have benefited immensely from information technology, which has enabled such groups to have better understanding of prices in the market and business processes. the government ’ s information, communication and technology ( ict ) program should ensure that more and more women are included so that women can use the ict entry point to enhance financial inclusion. • introduce products / supply chain focused credit facilities and payment instruments : introduction of appropriate credit facilities as well as payment systems and instruments in commodity markets and production chains / supply chains seems to be new entry points to improve access to finance and financial inclusion. women in agriculture can be driven towards a debt trap when prices collapse at the time of harvesting. although it is common to both men and women in agriculture, losing regular incomes would be a bigger blow to women than men. there can be inland bills, goods receipt vouchers and other instruments that are discountable during such periods. this is a responsibility for banks and financial institutions. let me sum up the substance in a few sentences. more than anything, there is an urgency on the part of cenwor or marga or any other institution to conduct research, surveys and statistical analyses to assess the status of enhancement of access to credit and financial inclusion among women in sri lanka. it is hard to come to conclusions without adequate and reliable statistics or even to initiate policy action to fill in gaps that exist in this area. it is equally important for the relevant ministry or ministries and other public and private organizations to coordinate and prepare a strategic plan to spearhead the campaign of financial inclusion for women and suggest policy and operational measures as they dee

ranee jayamaha : access to finance and financial inclusion for women speech by dr ranee jayamaha, deputy governor of the central bank of sri lanka, at the centre for women's research ( cenwor ), colombo, 4 april 2008. * * * let me start by giving a general definition for access to finance and financial inclusion before assessing the status of women in these two areas, and then discuss the areas of focus in enhancing financial inclusion for women. what is access to finance? in simple terms, this means to provide an environment in which people, in general, have accesses to the formal financial system, through the use of different financial products at affordable prices. the access could be to any formal financial institution, market, and payment system or to a financial instrument, including savings, loans, remittances and insurance services. what is financial inclusion? this means the process of facilitating those sectors and segments of the population that are outside, to become a part of the formal financial system and enrolling individuals or groups into the formal financial sector. key entry points for financial inclusion these could be through : ( a ) direct loans or banking facilities to the targeted vulnerable communities or groups ; ( b ) facilitation of economic activity in a particular geographical area of operations or location ; ( c ) development of local or national infrastructure to enable a particular type of business activity, which could then be practiced or performed by a group or groups which can include women ; and ( d ) providing an enabling environment and / or enhancements for such economic activity to take place. the enabling environment includes laws, regulations, taxation, skills development, duty waivers, subsidies, etc. in this context, tax concessions and duty waivers given to make enterprises be “ financially inclusive ” are often forgotten. in fact, due to lack of awareness, enhancement of access to finance or financial inclusion that has already taken place in various sectors, and the enabling environment that has been created, are taken for granted with no value attached to them. women ’ s contribution to economic development let me now deal with the importance of women ’ s contribution to the economic development in sri lanka and assess whether financial inclusion of, and access to finance by women are on par with the contribution they make. women in sri lanka have been engaged in economic activities over centuries of history primarily through employment. due to low productivity and inadequate incomes in the agricultural sector, women in small farm families have moved from unpaid family labour to other occupations