MANILA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday said it has approved a 100-million-U.S.-dollar loan for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Sri Lanka to have more access to finance and build their resilience to external shocks, such as economic crisis and climate change.

According to the ADB, Sri Lanka's SMEs provide 45 percent of employment and contribute 52 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the South Asian country. "It is therefore important to provide SMEs, particularly women-led enterprises, with the necessary support to sustain and grow the sector's contribution to the economy."

Through participating financial institutions, the ADB will open a 50-million-dollar line of credit for underserviced SMEs in the export, tourism, technology, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors. It will also establish a 500,000-U.S.-dollar special facility to cover guarantee subsidies for women-led SMEs.

The project will build on the government's equity contribution through the National Credit Guarantee Institution Limited, which provides partial credit guarantees on loans to SMEs. Enditem

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