Business

SL ranked second in South Asian region for ease of launching startup businesses

Published

4 years ago

2021/09/24

Sri Lanka is ranked second in the South Asian region for ease of launching a startup business, the 2021 edition of the Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), launched by global innovation policy advisory and research firm Startup Genome states.

The report , which is a country validity study, features, among other matters, Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem and the way forward for it, after working closely with the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka.

A press release states: The global innovation policy advisory & research firm Startup Genome launched the 2021 edition of the Global Startup Ecosystem report (GSER), in which Sri Lanka’s Startup Ecosystem was featured along with key insights and its way forward after working closely with the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka as a country validating study. Published annually, the report analyses 280 entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems and 3 million startups and includes the ranking of the leading 140 ecosystems in the world, breakdowns by continent with regional insights. The GSER is widely known as the most comprehensive and widely read research on global startups.

The Information and Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) through a membership agreement with Startup Genome has been working together since 2016 to explore the untapped potential of the local startup ecosystem and find ways to develop it. Exploring the Sri Lankan startup ecosystem in 2021, the report underscores that the ecosystem is evolving rapidly with measures being taken to nurture local talent, improve business climate and foster international connections that bode well for the ecosystem in the long run.

The report highlights that Sri Lanka is ranked second in the region for ease of starting a startup business, given the recent developments and new laws designated for Colombo Port City as a Special Economic Zone and government’s nod to establish five new technology parks around the island and international collaborations for startup funding. The rapid growth of the ecosystem is backed by the government incentives and timely measures to strengthen the ecosystem.

The report sheds light on the strengths of sub sectors such as Cleantech and Agtech and New Food sectors being highlighted for their density of talent, support resources and startup activities as key drivers of economic growth. The fast-growing stock market, reduced corporate income tax and knowledge driven economy along with ranked as #3 in the Asian region for affordable talent and featured in the top 30 Asian Ecosystems in Bang for Buck are some of the cited reasons a startup should move to Sri Lanka.

Among the key findings of the report, the total value of the Sri Lankan startup ecosystem as at 2021 with a growth of 13% from last year, during the pandemic and creating USD 132 million, total early-stage funding – USD 26 million, Median Series A Round – USD 1.06 million, Median Seed Round – USD 50,000, and Software Engineer salary – USD 6,000.

“Sri Lanka is implementing a holistic and reliant approach to developing our startup ecosystem. Provision of infrastructure through state-of-the-art technology parks, startup-friendly laws and policies, creation of a venture fund, entrepreneur visa, facilitating regional startup hubs are a few of many initiatives that will be implemented in our start-up development strategy.’’ said Jayantha De Silva, Secretary, Ministry of Technology.

“As per the Global Startup Ecosystem report (GSER) findings, the overall growth and performance in Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem has been impacted by the pandemic. However as the facilitator for technology startup development in Sri Lanka, ICTA will continue to work closely with Startup Genome alongside a strong collaboration between both local and global organisations to further empower and accelerate the start up ecosystem in the country. It is imperative that priority focus is provided for local startups where the performance of the startup eco system would be pivotal in realising the vision of a future digital economy in Sri Lanka as well as position Sri Lanka globally for world class technology products” said Oshada Senanayake, Chairman of ICTA.

For international businesses looking to enter the Sri Lankan shores, the country offers a 5 to 10-year tax holiday to private companies while maintaining a 0% corporate tax rate for the tech sector. There is zero capital gains and zero dividend withholding tax for foreigners. In addition, ICTA’s recent partnership with PwC Sri Lanka provisioned an alternative Credit Evaluation Framework specifically designed for tech companies to expand financing opportunities through local financial institutions. The continuous efforts towards a startup friendly government saw the Ministry of Finance in October 2020 introducing a procurement policy requires any application software bids for the government under a value of LKR 2 million to exclusively go to tech startups. In 2021 the Digital Nomad visa program was introduced, enabling foreign individuals to work remotely from Sri Lanka for 1 year.

ICTA is actively working with the Startup Genome, government bodies and partner organizations to achieve its vision of establishing 1,000 tech startups by 2024.

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Business

Wealth Trust Securities to raise Rs. 500.8 million via IPO

Published

13 hours ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

Left to right: Timothy Speldewinde, Independent Non-Executive Director; Anarkali Moonesinghe, Non-Independent Non-Executive Director; Priyanthi Abeyesekere, Deputy CEO; Senaka Weerasooria, chairman (Non-Independent Non-Executive Director); Romesh Gomez, Managing Director/CEO (Non- Independent Executive Director); Tarusha Weerasooria, Non-Independent Non- Executive Director; Shanti Gnanapragasam, Independent Non-Executive Director; and Tivanka Perera, Vice President – Asia Securities Advisors (Pvt) Ltd.

The recent announcement of Wealth Trust Securities Ltd.’s Rs. 500.8 million Initial Public Offering -IPO- comes at a moment when Sri Lanka’s interest-rate environment is gradually easing, allowing well-capitalised primary dealers to expand their trading portfolios and secure long-term positions in government securities.

Company chairman Senaka Weerasooria told journalists in Colombo that the IPO is not merely a capital-raising exercise, but a reinforcement of the disciplined structure that has defined the company since its inception.

He noted that WTS enters the public market with what is already one of the most robust capital bases in the industry, and with “absolute confidence that investors are joining a journey that has consistently returned value.”

Weerasooria said the capital infusion will further solidify WTS’s ability to absorb volatility, particularly amid cyclical movements in Treasury yields.

Despite maintaining a conservative trading outlook, the company has managed to average a 31% ROE over the past twelve years — a figure management repeatedly highlighted as evidence of resilience across both tightening and loosening rate cycles.

Managing Director and CEO Romesh Gomez said that in recent months the direction of policy rates and market liquidity has begun shifting favourably, creating clear value-accretion opportunities for disciplined portfolio expansion. With additional capital, he noted, WTS has greater room to capture advantageous auction positions, broaden secondary market activity and align its investment scale to emerging market windows.

Gomez acknowledged that FY25 reflected compressed performance due to systemic realignment, with revenue at Rs. 4.6 billion and PAT at Rs. 1.2 billion. However, he pointed out that profit sustainability, even through a difficult cycle, speaks to strong operational controls. The A- rating with a Positive outlook continues to stand, reinforcing the company’s position as a stable counterparty in a specialised sector.

Asia Securities Advisors, managing the IPO, pointed out that the offer price of Rs. 7 presents meaningful upside when benchmarked against underlying valuation metrics. The move into the listed environment, they noted, enhances governance visibility — a point increasingly valued among institutional investors participating in the Government securities market.

By Ifham Nizam

Business

BoardPAC achieves Carbon Neutral Certification for the fourth consecutive year

Published

14 hours ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

BoardPAC, the global leader in digital board meeting automation, has secured the Carbon Neutral Certification for 2024, marking the fourth consecutive year the company has achieved this milestone. The certification, awarded by the Sri Lanka Climate Fund (SLCF) under the Ministry of Environment in October 2025, underscores BoardPAC’s commitment to environmental sustainability and responsible corporate governance.

BoardPAC’s operations, spanning over 40 countries, were assessed against the ISO 14064 – 1:2018 standard, and the company’s organization-level Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions were successfully offset, reflecting its ongoing commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

Business

Uber marks 10 years in Sri Lanka: Moving People, Powering Livelihoods, Impacting Communities

Published

14 hours ago

2025/12/10

Thilina Walpola

Uber today marked ten years of operations in Sri Lanka, a decade in which the platform has reshaped how people commute, and how thousands of Sri Lankans earn a livelihood. Over the past decade, ride-hailing has become one of the most transformative shifts in Sri Lanka’s urban mobility landscape, providing safe, reliable and affordable transport at scale.

Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister for Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, Government of Sri Lanka, graced the milestone event as the Chief Guest. U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung attended as the Guest of Honor, joined by Akanksha Singh, Head – South Asia Markets, Uber, and Kaushalya Gunaratne, Country Manager – Mobility, Uber Sri Lanka.

As per the 2024 Sri Lanka Economic Impact Report, compiled by global policy research firm – Public First, Uber and Uber Eats together generated over LKR 160 billion in economic activity in Sri Lanka within a single year. Since its entry in Sri Lanka in 2015, Uber rides have covered over 1.15 billion kilometers – equivalent to nearly 3000 trips from Earth to the moon! Over 320,000 Sri Lankans have earned through the platform as drivers.

Uber has also supported the tourism ecosystem, enabling more than 700,000 airport trips, connecting visitors seamlessly to their destinations. Over the last year, we’ve further intensified our service in the Western and Central provinces and expanded our offerings in the Southern and Northern provinces – bringing its services closer to more communities across the country. Uber has emerged as one of the most preferred ride-hailing platforms across the island, offering affordable, reliable, and safer rides at different price points.

Deputy Minister for Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development, Government of Sri Lanka, Chathuranga Abeysinghe, said, “Over the past decade, Uber has become part of the fabric of daily life in Sri Lanka – not only by helping people get where they need to go, but by enabling thousands to earn an income with dignity and flexibility.