Start-up Genome and ICTA launch 2020 Global Start-up Ecosystem Report
View(s):The 2020 Global Start-up Ecosystem Report (GSER) by Start-up Genome and the Global Entrepreneurship Network was launched this week at The Ecosystems Couch Conference.
The GSER is the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on start-ups. Its release comes at a critical time when several start-ups in Sri Lanka are running out of funding and facing closure in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisers said in a media release.
The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) engaged Start-up Genome to benchmark Sri Lanka’s performance against more than 250 start-up ecosystems globally in the report. It has identified the Sri Lankan government’s support for technology companies and competitive talent as reasons for start-ups to operate in Sri Lanka. The report recognised Sri Lanka for being the number 2 destination among global start-up ecosystems for affordable talent.
Reaffirming the government’s support, ICTA Chairman, Jayantha De Silva said, “The value of Sri Lanka’s start-up ecosystem has more than quadrupled from Rs. 5.4 billion to Rs. 21.8 billion in the past two years. ICTA is committed to facilitating the continued growth in ecosystem value and start-up output. We, as the ‘Island Of Ingenuity,’ take pride in our product engineering talent pool which has delivered world-class products and gained investor confidence globally.”
Despite the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, local investors have also reassured their commitment to supporting local start-ups. Chairman of the Lankan Angel Network, Mano Sekaram said, “Over the past decade, regional VCs, foreign investors, and other parties have made significant investments into tech start-ups. With this backdrop, we’re excited to launch Sri Lanka’s first Angel Fund to further support the growing ecosystem.”
The report also identified the strong potential of Sri Lankan start-ups in the eCommerce and FinTech sectors. New regulations by the Central Bank has empowered Sri Lankan FinTech start-ups, which have also found new support with the launch of HatchX, which is Sri Lanka’s first FinTech accelerator and the first virtual accelerator in South Asia. The accelerator was launched in April 2020 and is an initiative by Hatch in partnership with the Lankan Angel Network.
Commenting on these findings, CEO of PayHere, Dhanika Perera said: “The COVID-19 pandemic expedited consumer adoption of eCommerce out of necessity. PayHere recorded a remarkable 4x growth on daily payments processed for local eCommerce businesses. This shift in consumer behaviour has now convinced traditional businesses to move online.”
With an expanding footprint, the 2020 GSER provides insights and guidance to foster thriving start-up ecosystems and leveraging them to restart economies following the COVID-19 lockdowns. “This is the time for policymakers, community leaders, and foundations to double down on their support of local start-ups — the #1 engine of job creation and economic growth,” said JF Gauthier, Founder & CEO of Start-up Genome.