The Bank of Ceylon (BoC), a leading state bank in Sri Lanka has agreed to provide an incentive package for Gemidiriya villages to boost the Gemidiriya micro finance scheme.

Under this special scheme the bank has agreed to give a 15.5 % annual interest for fixed deposits for members of Gemidiriya Peoples Companies, waive the criteria related to guarantors in loans issued for them. The bank has also agreed to send officers to collect the money to be deposited in savings deposits by Gemidiriya members.

BoC agreed to tie up relations with Gemidiriya after the BOC chairman Dr. Gamini Wickremasinghe and a team of senior managers visited the Madugasmulla Gemidiriya Peoples Company (MGPC) recently.

In this visit BoC officials held discussions with representatives of the Madugasmulla Gemidiya Peoples Company about the Gemidiriya micro finance scheme and Gemidiriya development process in the village.

At the meeting the Chairman of the MGPC said that due to the determination and hard work of the people, today the Madugasmulla village has a successful savings organisation. Prior to Gemidiriya project is being introduced, villagers had little or no idea of savings. But with the establishment Village Savings and Credit Organisation (VSCO) villagers have got the habit of savings while there is also a successful credit culture in the village.