Disrupt Asia 2019 to focus on start-ups in Bengal Bay
Where information and communication technology (ICT) is concerned it is important to think beyond what is happening in the country and expand it to other markets in the Southeast Asia region. ”We want people involved in start-ups in Sri Lanka to take it further to countries such as in the Bengal Bay region,” said the Chairman of the ICTA Prof. Rohan Samarajiva at a media briefing and the launch of Disrupt Asia 2019 held at the Jaic Hilton Colombo this week. The aim of the Disruptive Asia -2019 Conference is to facilitate more start-ups in the South Asia region than confining it to Sri Lanka.
Prof. Samarajiva said this World Innovation Festival was introduced last year and this year a number of new themes and concepts dealing with ICT have been introduced. “There are start-ups in Bangladesh and also those who deal with innovative financing in India. We keep pushing the boundaries and making changes and want to keep our eye on future development. Innovation of all types happen these days whether it be transport or anything else where ICT is embedded in it. Referring to smartphones, he said it provides new opportunities for the visually impaired and speech impaired persons to participate and lead independent lives.
Meanwhile the 4th sessions of the Disruptive Asia will be held under the theme “Augmented Living” at the Nelum Pokuna Colombo on October 7-14 named as the week of innovation by ICTA Sri Lanka. This year’s conference theme “Augmented Living” will ensure conversations and a fresh perspective for all participants. The conference will feature Casie Lau and Amrit Charoenphan, both eminent start-up personalities in Asia. The panel discussion on “Global Strategies for Emerging Market” will showcase experts from Seedstars, Techstarts and Stratupright who will advise start-ups on accelerating business towards global expansion. Disrupt Asia 2019 is endorsed by the Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology and is supported several private companies. Disrupt Asia 2019 organized by the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka since 2016 has been hailed as Sri Lanka’s premier start-up conference and Innovation Festival, a platform for start-ups to exhibit innovation on a global scale.
Senior Consultant- ICTA Indika De Zoysa and the Programme Head– Industry Development Programme Sachindra Samararene also spoke.