Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem saw a peak during the pandemic said Chief Digital Economy Officer, Anura De Alwis, The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA). There were 556 registrations for 2021 so far.
He was addressing the media briefing on ICTA, recently launched the’10,000 Ideas’ national tech innovation program intending to empower the next generation of tech entrepreneurs along with startup ecosystem enablers. Facilitated by ICTA in collaboration with startup ecosystem enablers and partners for entrepreneurs, ‘10,000 Ideas’ sets the tone to achieve ICTA’s vision of establishing 1,000 tech startups by 2024.
“We are indeed proud to set the stage for the next generation to thrive as successful entrepreneurs. Tech or tech-enabled businesses have a huge potential to succeed in the global arena with the level of assistance we can offer together with our partners. Our core message is to encourage innovative business ideas as ICTA and our partners are there to guide you in the entrepreneurship journey under this ‘10,000 Ideas’ initiative. This would indeed be a collaborative effort through which we can contribute to the growth of the economy and achieve individual aspirations as well.”
ICTA along with the partners hope to generate high quality and globally scalable business ideas from all parts of the country and benchmark global standards for tech entrepreneurship.
ICTA will then facilitate these individuals/groups by connecting them further with the ecosystem of partners who will help them through mentoring, training, networking, funding etc.
While creating a level playing field for more and more ideas to emerge from every corner of the island, ‘10,000 Ideas’ will be instrumental in creating a supportive structure for entrepreneurial activities in Sri Lanka from a very young age.
“We have implemented numerous ideation-level programs through the strong network of 20 University Student Branches of IEEE Sri Lanka Section, including University Level Hackathons and National Level Programs like IEEE Innovation Nation Sri Lanka.’
“Filling the gap between having an idea and building that up to a product, the ‘10,000’ Ideas campaign allows future entrepreneurs to rise above the ideation level. This initiative will give Start-up Industry massive support from the ecosystem collaborators of the program,” says IEEE Sri Lanka Section, Student Activities Chair Dhammika Marasinghe.
“10,000 idea launch is a great start to inspire youth to identify some crucial problems and to find solutions with the help of technology. Once these companies start growing and scaling, they will create a lot of job opportunities. It is also crucial to take this to the rural areas of the island and to work at the grass-root level too.” says Yarl IT Hub, Organizing Chair - Yarl Geek Challenge Abarnah Kirupanandap.
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