Start-up industry finally gets due recognition
Sri Lanka’s start-ups community says a specific allocation in the budget to start-ups finally shows government recognition of an important sector in the economy.
Takas.lk Co-founder and CEO Lahiru Padmalal told the Business Times on Friday that with an actual budgetary allocation of Rs.3 billion, this was something that the sector was excited about.
In this respect, he pointed out that the government has recognized that technology companies were the ones that were going to make money for the country and believed this to be a “good sign.”
Mr. Padmalal explained that the budget also brought about another welcome move in revamping the bankruptcy laws of the country to fall in line with the 21st century requirements.
He noted that the budget had essentially focused on the cost of closing down a business which is considered quite expensive in Sri Lanka and this would surely help new enterprises to come up.
It was pointed out that closing down a business was helpful since it helps start-ups to explore opportunities in the market through new businesses and even go in for new ones if not successful at first.
The focus on the SME sector is important and if the government uses funds allocated to this sector to open up markets for SMES it would help increase their exports.