UNDP, Visa partner to boost financial inclusion among women, youth in Sri Lanka’s estate communities
COLOMBO – The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Sri Lanka and Visa have launched a partnership to strengthen financial inclusion and economic empowerment among women and youth in estate communities, beginning with a seven-month pilot program in Hope Estate, Hewaheta, Nuwara Eliya.
The partnership was formalized at a signing ceremony between UNDP Sri Lanka Resident Representative Azusa Kubota and Visa Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Avanthi Colombage, attended by representatives of both organizations.
The pilot will support 50 young agricultural producers, most of them women, by strengthening their financial literacy, improving access to formal financial services and equipping them with practical skills to participate in the digital financial system.
The initiative aims to address the gap between having access to banking services and being able to use them effectively, helping beneficiaries move from predominantly cash-based practices towards more secure and inclusive financial management.
Hope Estate is located in Sri Lanka’s plantation region, where economic opportunities for women have traditionally been concentrated in wage-based labour. The partnership seeks to expand those opportunities by linking financial inclusion with emerging livelihoods such as polytunnel cultivation and backyard farming.
Building on UNDP’s work to promote climate-smart and diversified rural livelihoods, the program will combine training in financial literacy, digital payments and good agricultural practices.
Participants will also receive practical assistance to open and actively use bank accounts, while gaining access to digital tools and systems designed to facilitate secure and efficient financial transactions.
UNDP Resident Representative Azusa Kubota said economic empowerment begins with financial inclusion but requires broader access to income-generating opportunities.
“Through this partnership with Visa, we are opening new doors for women and young people in estate communities to move from the margins of the economy to the centre of opportunity,” she said.
She said combining financial literacy with pathways to income generation would help expand access to financial services while fostering entrepreneurship and building more resilient and diversified livelihoods.
Visa Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Avanthi Colombage said financial inclusion was a foundation for economic opportunity.
She said the partnership with UNDP reflected Visa’s commitment to developing inclusive digital ecosystems that enable women and youth in underserved communities to participate more fully in the formal economy.
The initiative will also pilot the gradual digitization of income and payment flows within local agricultural value chains, with the aim of reducing reliance on cash while strengthening transparency, confidence and trust in formal financial systems.
The seven-month program will combine training, digital onboarding and pilot interventions to encourage the use of formal financial services in everyday transactions.
It is also aligned with national efforts to strengthen financial literacy under Sri Lanka’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy, implemented in collaboration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The UNDP-Visa partnership aims to link financial inclusion directly with livelihood development, enabling women and youth in estate communities to better manage income, access financial services and participate in Sri Lanka’s expanding digital economy.
–ENCL
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