Why Sri Lanka’s startup scene is ready to take off

Sign up for the Daily Newsletter, sent exclusively to our premium subscribers. We break down the big and messy topics of Asia’s tech and startup community. Get the newsletter in your inbox everyday with a premium subscription.

Hello reader,

Sri Lanka and startups might not be synonymous for some of us, especially those not from the country.

I, for one, conjure up images of pristine beaches and glorious peaks when I think about the nation. Some might remember the bloody civil war that sadly engulfed the country from 1983 to 2009 or the more recent economic hardships it has suffered.

However, Sri Lanka has a lot of potential in building a thriving tech ecosystem.

Today’s featured story dives into the advantages Sri Lanka has in creating a promising startup scene and how it can harness these advantages.

Today we look at:

• How Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem can reach its potential
• Zomato eyes Paytm‘s movie and ticketing unit
• Other newsy highlights such as Tokopedia and ByteDance confirm layoffs looming and Vietnam’s VNG investing in an FX risk management firm.

Premium summary

Sri Lanka’s moment?

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Sri Lanka has an extremely young startup scene that’s ripe with potential.

The country’s ecosystem is ready to take off if it can harness a few key elements for success.

• Talent pool: Sri Lanka has an abundant pool of tech talent that work for the likes of Microsoft, Google, Intel, Oracle, and HSBC. Many work in the business process outsourcing industry, so they have experience building state-of-the-art products for others but not for themselves as entrepreneurs. Combining the experience of the country’s large diaspora with those of local talent is one part of the recipe for startup success.
• Think regional: Sri Lanka itself has a relatively small economy and has faced severe economic crises in recent years. Therefore, the country’s startups would be better served by taking a regional approach, with expansion to nearby countries like India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
• Fintech edge: There is one area where Sri Lanka may have a leg up on other markets: fintech. The country has a robust accounting sector that exports talent worldwide. That means Sri Lankan startups have access to the human resources required to build emerging market consumer fintech or enterprise solutions. Millennium IT, a Sri Lankan trading technology company, is an example of the latter, It sold its product to the Colombo Stock Exchange before expanding globally. The firm was acquired by the London Stock Exchange in 2009.

Read more: Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem has all it needs to thrive

Zomato eyes a trip to the movies

Experts give the lowdown at PDC 2024

Quick bytes