Startup Sri Lanka, an initiative by SLASSCOM Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum is partnering with Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL), the investment arm of the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) to support and grow Sri Lankan tech start-ups.

The partnership will see both parties collaborate on projects that drive innovation and technology in both start-up ecosystems. High potential start-ups in Sri Lanka will be selected for mentorship, training and market access opportunities amongst others to develop and grow their product and company. Strategic partners of this initiative also include industry stakeholders such as SLASSCOM, ICTA, Lanka Angel Network (LAN) and Open University of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan start-ups identified with regional growth and potential can also be shortlisted for IIPL's global start-up exchange programme, where they will be exposed to the Singapore start-up ecosystem. Through a four-week immersion, start-ups will be acquainted with ecosystem players and be given a co-working space at BASH (Singapore’s largest integrated start-up space) to network with members and partners of the tech building community across the entire value chain - from accelerators, investors, incubators to entrepreneurs – all under one roof.

Ruwindhu Peiris, Vice Chairman and Head of the SLASSCOM Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum revealed, "Out of the 150 current start-ups in Sri Lanka, we see a pipeline of 20+ companies that have the potential to accelerate growth and reach $10 Million revenue within the next 2 years. These companies require focused guidance on “go to market” strategies, access to high growth markets and funding that keeps them focused on high value products. The partnership with Infocomm Investments would be the ideal platform for these ventures to benefit from".

Sri Lanka was recently recognized as a top performer in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2015 by being ranked in the top 3 across the Central and South Asia region. Sri Lanka’s GII ranking has significantly improved by being globally ranked 85th for the year 2015 and was previously ranked 108th for the year 2014. Singapore is the leading innovation-driven economies worldwide and comes out top in Asia for using new technologies (according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), this partnership between Startup Sri Lanka and Infocomm Investments is therefore one with great potential to strengthen ties, enrich both ecosystems, and encourage the growth of innovative startups.