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Serendib launches Future Her to build financial confidence among schoolgirls

Serendib Frontier Capital (Pvt) Ltd (Serendib), a Colombo-based boutique corporate finance advisory firm, has launched Future Her, a school-based programme to strengthen financial capability, confidence and leadership among young women.

The programme’s inaugural Financial Literacy Forum was held on 18 September 2026 at Viharamahadevi Balika Vidyalaya, Kiribathgoda, for Advanced Level students, prefects and student leaders. Serendib also donated educational resources to the school and established a Future Her Financial Leadership Club, which will continue the work through student-led activities, peer learning, leadership development, mentorship and professional exposure.

At the forum, Sandali Sudasinghe, Lecturer in the Department of Finance at the University of Kelaniya, covered budgeting, saving, banking, digital finance and responsible financial decision-making. Niluka Jayasinghe, Founder and Managing Director of Global Bookkeeping Solutions (Pvt) Ltd, spoke about building a Sri Lankan knowledge-export business that serves international clients.

“Building financial confidence and leadership skills at school level can help young women shape their own futures, and Sri Lanka’s economy,” said Serendib Managing Director Niyomi Pushpakumara.

The programme responds to a gap between Sri Lanka’s education outcomes and women’s economic participation. The 2024 census put literacy at 97.0% among women, yet the CBSL/IFC Financial Literacy Survey of 2021 found financial literacy of 55.2% among women, against 61.1% among men. In 2025, only 32.4% of women participated in the labour force, compared with 69.1% of men, leaving approximately 6.19 million women outside it. With people aged 60 and above making up 18.0% of the population in 2024, up from 12.4% in 2012, drawing more women into the economy is increasingly a question of national productivity as well as equality.

Financial education alone cannot remove barriers such as care responsibilities, transport constraints, workplace conditions or limited job opportunities. As a starting point Serendib aims to equip girls early to understand money, weigh opportunities and make informed decisions, and to help them see themselves as future professionals, entrepreneurs and leaders.

“Creating value and impact goes beyond financial transactions. Future Her is one way Serendib contributes to Sri Lanka’s sustainable economic future,” said Serendib Chief Executive Officer Kavinda Dassanayake.

The initiative is led by Pushpakumara, Dassanayake and Tania De Silva, Future Her Event-in-Charge. Serendib thanked the school’s Principal, Mrs. M.L.M.N. Damayanthi, the Commerce Sectional Head and the teachers of Viharamahadevi Balika Vidyalaya for their support in launching the programme and establishing the club.