DFCC BANK BRINGS ASIA-PACIFIC DEVELOPMENT FINANCE LEADERS TO SRI LANKA FOR ADFIAP 49
As a founding and charter member, DFCC Bank hosts the regional gathering in Colombo for the third time
Colombo, Sri Lanka: In Colombo, the discussion was about development finance. Beyond the conference venue, the ADFIAP Chair and an accompanying delegation saw where that finance could make a difference.
DFCC Bank recently hosted the 49th Annual Meetings of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP), bringing nearly 130 foreign delegates representing over 20 countries to Sri Lanka for a programme that combined regional policy dialogue with direct engagement across agriculture, food processing and dairy.
The formal sessions considered how capital, technology and cooperation could support investment, climate action, SME growth and wider economic participation. Outside the conference venue, H.E. Dr Kao Thach, ADFIAP Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Cambodia’s Agricultural and Rural Development Bank, and an accompanying delegation met policymakers and regulators and visited enterprises operating at different levels of Sri Lanka’s productive economy.
Together, these engagements gave visiting institutions more than a presentation about Sri Lanka. They offered a closer view of the sectors, businesses and financing needs behind the country’s development ambitions.
Hosted by DFCC Bank for the third time, ADFIAP 49 was held at Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams, Colombo, under the theme “Partnerships for Prosperity: Unlocking Regional Potential.”
ADFIAP comprises 97 member institutions across 42 countries and works to advance sustainable economic, environmental and social development through development finance. DFCC Bank is a founding and charter member of the Association.
That relationship reaches back to DFCC Bank’s own beginnings as Sri Lanka’s pioneer development finance institution. The Bank was established to direct long-term capital towards businesses and industries capable of advancing the economy. Although it has since evolved into a commercial bank, that development-finance perspective continues to influence its approach to project finance, sustainable finance, enterprise development and international funding partnerships.
Thimal Perera, Director and Chief Executive Officer of DFCC Bank, said, “Hosting ADFIAP 49 gave us an opportunity not only to bring an important regional conversation to Sri Lanka, but also to bring the region closer to the country’s institutions, industries and entrepreneurs. The value of the meeting will be measured by what follows: the relationships that continue, the opportunities that receive serious consideration and the partnerships that move from discussion into action.”
The opening programme included remarks by Dr Kao Thach and a keynote address by Dr Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
The Special Interest Session, “Sri Lanka’s Financial Landscape: Transforming Challenges into Regional Opportunities,” examined the next stage of the country’s economic journey: turning greater stability into investment, productivity and sustained growth.
The wider programme focused on five priorities influencing development finance across the region: public-private partnerships, regional integration, climate finance and green transitions, digital transformation for SME growth, and greater economic participation by underserved communities.
For Dr Kao Thach and the accompanying delegation, the programme then moved beyond Colombo.
At a large-scale poultry-processing operation in Kurunegala, the delegation examined how integrated production, automation, food-safety controls and modern processing technology support domestic food supply.
At a rural dairy enterprise supported through DFCC Bank’s dairy-sector value-chain financing programme, Dr Kao Thach and the delegation saw the opportunity at a different scale. Access to finance, improved farm-management practices and investment in feed and infrastructure had helped a small venture develop into a sustainable commercial operation.
Engagements connected to the paddy sector explored opportunities for knowledge exchange, institutional collaboration and regional cooperation across agriculture, rural development and food security.
Dr Kao Thach also met the Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and government officials, extending the discussion to Sri Lanka’s development priorities and areas in which regional institutions could contribute finance, expertise or partnership.
Six partnership agreements connected to ADFIAP’s development agenda were ceremonially recognised during the Annual Meetings. They covered green infrastructure, sustainable finance, agricultural technology, digital banking, investment sourcing and institutional capacity-building.
For DFCC Bank, hosting ADFIAP 49 was not simply about bringing an international gathering to Colombo. It was an opportunity to use the Bank’s place within an influential regional network to place Sri Lanka’s institutions, industries and opportunities before those who could help move them forward.
