Institutional-Repository, University of Moratuwa
Welcome to the University of Moratuwa Digital Repository, which houses postgraduate theses and dissertations, research articles presented at conferences by faculties and departments, university-published journal articles and research publications authored by academic staff. This online repository stores, preserves and distributes the University's scholarly work. This service allows University members to share their research with a larger audience.
 Research Publications |  Thesis & Dissertation |  E- Books |
 UoM Journal Publications |  UoM Conference Proceedings |  Articles published in Scimago's Q1 journals |  UoM Research Reports |  Other Articles authored by UoM staff |
Recent Submissions
item: Conference-Full-text
The Role of artificial intelligence in enhancing loan recovery strategies in Sri Lanka
(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2025) Hansika, N; Bandarathilaka, V; Madumal, U; Weerasinghe, W; Kuruppu, GN
Lankan Licensed commercial banks maintain economic stability and financial inclusion, but struggle with loan recovery which affect their financial stability. The increasing Non-Performing Loan (NPL) ratios shows that the loan recovery process has become inefficient, creating financial risks for sustainability. Despite traditional recovery methods, challenges such as regulatory constraints, operational inefficiencies, and borrower behavior continue to delay loan repayment. Hence, this research addresses a research gap by examining how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can improve loan recovery processes, making them more effective and efficient.
This study primarily aimed to identify whether performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence impact the intention to use an AI-based loan recovery system in Sri Lanka. By focusing on these key constructs, the study focuses on providing empirical evidence on how individual perceptions and social factors shape employees’ readiness to adopt AI technologies in the loan recovery process. This research adopts a positive philosophy and a quantitative research strategy. The objective is to be achieved using quantitative analysis from the data collected through structured questionnaires from a sample of 100 loan recovery officers selected using the Purposive sampling method from the population of recovery officers across Western Province branches. The findings indicate that effort expectancy and social influence are significant factors affecting the adoption of AI-based loan recovery, and performance expectancy is not significant. These findings shows that the banks should focus on ease of use, and peer and organizational support, as well as equipping them with sufficient infrastructure and resources to motivate the adoption of AI systems to improve the NPL ratios and financial sustainability of the banking sector in Sri Lanka.
item: Conference-Full-text
Evaluating the impact of central bank communications on exchange rates: the case of Sri Lanka
(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2025) Perera, GKS; De Silva, TS
There is a growing interest in how central bank communications may influence exchange rates in emerging market contexts. This paper examines how central bank communications affect exchange rates by conducting a sentiment analysis of press releases from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and relating these sentiment scores to the LKR-USD exchange rate. The period analyzed spans from October 2012 to December 2024. The sentiment scores were calculated using a dictionary-based approach to analyze monetary policy reviews, inflation, and external sector-related press releases. The relationship between these scores and exchange rates was examined using both daily and monthly exchange rates, while also considering other macroeconomic variables. The results show that the sentiment scores of Monetary Policy press releases have significant positive effect on the daily exchange rate fluctuations at 5% level. In monthly exchange rate model, the average monetary policy sentiment also has a positive effect, which is significant at the 10% level, whereas sentiment of the external sector press releases has a marginally negative effect, which is significant at the 10% level. This study provides initial empirical support for the notion that the language used by the central bank has the potential to predict the direction of exchange rate movements in Sri Lanka, indicating how central bank language can influence market expectations.
item: Conference-Abstract
Financial innovation, gender, and credit access: evidence from Ghanaian microenterprises
(Business Research Unit (BRU), 2025) Thorson, JA; Andoh, S
Small businesses in developing countries often face significant barriers to accessing credit and financial services, with women-owned enterprises experiencing even greater challenges. These businesses tend to be smaller, have limited credit histories, and often operate on a cash basis, making financial documentation difficult. Recent innovations, particularly the rise of mobile money, have transformed financial landscapes across Africa. In Ghana, mobile money adoption has surged, driven by smartphone penetration, supportive regulation, and widespread agent networks. This paper investigates whether mobile money serves as a substitute or complement to traditional banking services for small enterprises. While mobile money can function independently of bank accounts, integration with formal banking may enhance financial inclusion. We explore three key questions: (1) Are there gender-based differences in mobile money usage among entrepreneurs? (2) Does mobile money usage influence engagement with traditional financial services? (3) What impact does access to formal financial services have on the performance of women-owned businesses? Preliminary evidence suggests that women in Ghana lag men in adopting digital financial technologies, potentially exacerbating existing inequalities. However, policy efforts aimed at closing the gender gap in financial access may be amplified by mobile money innovations. Understanding whether these technologies empower women entrepreneurs or reinforce existing barriers is critical for designing inclusive financial systems. This paper uses data from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys. Microenterprises, those businesses with 1-4 employees were surveyed in Ghana in 2024. A unique aspect of this paper is that it is focused on very small businesses, it makes a good sample for understanding the degree of financial inclusion among the most disadvantaged in Ghana. To determine the effect of gender and financial innovation of credit access, this paper uses descriptive statistics and probit analysis. Of the firms surveyed, approximately a third had female ownership. Mobile money was used by 90% of businesses, which women owned businesses using it slightly more frequently than businesses owned by men. Despite this widespread use of mobile money, the use of loans from traditional financial institutions are much more limited. Only 16% of female owned businesses had a line of credit or a loan from a bank. However, the percentage of male owned businesses that had loans was even lower at 12.5%. These small firms are to a great extent unlinked to the traditional financial sector and this delinking does not appear to be related to gender.
The goal of this paper is to further our understanding of the role of financial innovation, gender and access to credit. The adoption of mobile money is remarkable in its speed and scale. However, the preliminary evidence does not show a widespread adoption of credit from traditional financial institutions. The results suggest that targeted efforts are needed to help small businesses access formal financial services.
item: Thesis-Abstract
Impact of tuck loops for color depth of 100% cotton single jersey fabric variations
(2025) Jayalath, JMD; Wijayapala, UGS
In this research work the influence of dye absorbency against structural variations of 100% cotton knitted fabrics were investigated as these materials are widely used for T- shirt manufacturing. Since the achieving of required color depth in these materials is critical, the dyeing behavior against structural variations was investigated.
For this experiment, eight different knitted fabric samples were produced with different tuck loop densities using same machine settings and same yarn. Next these samples were pretreated and dyed under same conditions for all three primary colors red, blue and yellow for both light and dark shades. Then these samples were tested for L, a, b color values and DE color change using spectrophotometer. For the DE color change, the single jersey sample (with 0% tuck loops) was used as the standard.
The findings revealed that fabric structural variations significantly influence dye absorbency and perceived color, as measured by L, a, b, and ΔE values. Up to a tuck loop density of 33%, increased compactness enhance light scattering than reflection while dye absorption remain same, resulting in deeper shades (lower L values), more saturated hues (higher a and b values), and greater overall color difference (ΔE). Beyond this point, further compactness reduced dye penetration due to limited pore spaces and increased surface reflection, leading to lighter color appearance. These trends were consistent across all three reactive dye shades studied. The study concludes that an optimal fabric compactness exists approximately 33% tuck loop density for achieving maximum color strength and visual depth
item: Conference-Full-text
Proceedings of the International e- Conference on 'Cities, People and Places'- ICCPP-2025 (Pre-Text)
(Department of Architecture, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, 2025) Wijesundara , J; Dissanayake, C
Proceedings of the International e- Conference on 'Cities, People and Places'- ICCPP-2025
December 11th – 12th, 2025, Colombo, Sri Lanka