Renuka Rathnahewage

Commercial Bank of Ceylon

- By Dr. Sulochana Segera

Renuka Rathnahewage stands out as one of Sri Lanka's most influential voices in microfinance, combining regulatory knowledge, entrepreneurial courage and deep community insight. Her journey began with an extraordinary achievement for someone so young.

She founded the first local micro credit company established and led by a young female entrepreneur and successfully navigated the stringent path required to secure a Central Bank license. This milestone marked her as a leader committed to high standards of compliance and social purpose.

Over the years, she has worked directly with more than one hundred thousand women across all twenty-two districts of Sri Lanka, empowering them through access to finance, business education and economic opportunities. Today, as Senior Manager of Microfinance at the Commercial Bank of Ceylon, she continues to champion responsible financial inclusion and sustainable development. Her story is one of resilience, strategic thinking and unwavering dedication to empowering families and communities.

You built the first local micro credit company led by a young female entrepreneur and secured Central Bank licensing. What inspired you to take that bold step at such a young age?

I never saw my age as an obstacle. Instead, I viewed it as an advantage because youth gave me energy, optimism and the willingness to take on challenges that others found intimidating. My inspiration came from what I saw in rural Sri Lanka. Women in these communities possessed skills, ideas and enormous resilience, yet they remained invisible to the formal financial sector.