Council for Startups of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, supporting startups to attract investments and gain momentum

In line with the recently concluded Sri Lanka Investment Forum (SLIF) 2021 oganised by the BOI, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and Colombo Stock Exchange, the Council for Startups held a webinar on the Startup Ecosystem Landscape to attract investments via the local Tech and Innovation opportunities. It was noted that in a thriving /robust startup ecosystem a good investment climate and deal flow is critical. As such, the aim of the webinar was to showcase the local Tech and Innovation potential and to boost the venture funding ecosystem in Sri Lanka. The panelist included Mr. Rajan Anandan, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital; Mr. Supun Weerasinghe, Director/Group CEO, Dialog Axiata PLC; Mr. Dumith Fernando, Chairman, Asia Securities; and Mr. Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Chairman, Council for Startups of The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce moderating the session.

Over the past 10 years Sri Lanka on average has had venture funding of approximately $2.5M per year where leading countries spend close to 0.5% of GDP per annum. This equates to $400M per annum in Venture Funding for Sri Lanka. Thus the objective during the session was to see how Sri Lanka could gradually increase this funding by at least targeting 0.1% of GDP ($80M) for 2022/2023 by highlighting the following:

1 Geopolitical location – Connected with over 8 trillion GDP within 5-hour flying time which makes it easier for a startups to scale.

2 Untapped market – Still at an early stage with only approximately 400 startups, thus becoming attractive compared to the region for investors that are early movers.

3 Tech talent – Small in numbers but proven talent that can build world class products to compete globally.

4 Brain gain – Sri Lanka has been ranked second best for digital nomads in 2021 ahead of Singapore by Club Med. This study by the French travel company looked at cost of living, safety, average internet speed, presence of nature and wellness spots, as well as adventurous activities in each country. There is plenty of young Lankan talent retuning back to the country and many successful startups in Sri Lanka were founded by them. These entrepreneurs studied in the best schools globally, worked for a few years and came back. They have a world view but want to be in Lanka.