At a Glance

• In Sri Lanka, the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT)  industry is the country's fourth largest export earner.
• Women entrepreneurs are facing challenges in the sector with hesitancy around access to finance and a lack of access to knowledgeable and experienced workforces.

• IFC's partnership with SLASSCOM aims to address these issues and power up the nascent women technopreneur space in Sri Lanka.

   

  $5B Estimated Value of ICT Sector in Sri Lanka by 2030

  28% of Global Tech Workforce are Women

Uber does not own a fleet of cars, and Airbnb, does not have its own hotels. But they are thriving businesses that have revolutionized the global business landscape.

The digital economy is redefining industries with bold and innovative solutions. From fintech to healthcare, e-commerce to education, technology is helping create solutions that were unthinkable just a decade ago.

While the path is rarely smooth, the successes are undeniable, driving fundamental shifts across economies.

But running a digital business has its ups and downs – and more so for women who take the entrepreneurial plunge. Globally, women represent a mere 28.2 percent of the tech workforce, emphasizing a substantial underrepresentation in the industry.

In Sri Lanka, the Information, Communication and Technology  industry is the country's fourth largest export earner, on course to generate $5 billion in revenue by 2030. With a $252 million startup ecosystem value as of 2024, the tech industry is a space for innovation and provides new opportunities for women and men to participate. However, women technopreneurs face additional challenges around a lack of access to knowledgeable and experienced workforces and hesitancy around accessing financing.

The Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), the national chamber for the Knowledge and Innovation Industry, has an ambitious goal to bridge this gap. Founded in 2020, SLASSCOM’s Women Technopreneurs Forum aims to foster female-led tech startups and contribute to the goal of 1,000 new startups by 2030.

“One of the key reasons behind the conceptualization of the Women Tech Forum was to assist women who wanted to start their own tech businesses,” said Zahra Cader, Director of SLASSCOM. It started by bringing together aspiring female technopreneurs, many of whom had left the workforce due to family commitments.

Petula Wijesinghe was one of these women. 

Participants at the Women Technopreneurs Forum. Photo: SLASSCOM.

Igniting Partnerships for Progress

A decade ago, Wijesinghe took a break from her banking career to raise her kids – but her passion for the industry still burned brightly. Though eager to reenter the workforce, she found traditional career paths to be challenging when it came to family commitments. It was also a time when Wijesinghe noted significant transformations in banking. “The rapid pace of change in banking, particularly the fintech revolution, became increasingly apparent to me. From online marketplaces to mobile payments, it was clear that fintech was reshaping the way we interacted with money,” she said.

The desire to return to work, coupled with a newfound curiosity towards fintech and its emerging trends, led Wijesinghe towards a fresh start. She co-founded AnybanQ.lk, Sri Lanka's first digital banking information platform.

It wasn’t a journey without its own challenges. Navigating the entrepreneurial landscape as a young woman presented many roadblocks. According to Wijesinghe, the platform’s “concept as an innovative banking marketplace was difficult for investors to grasp, hindering fundraising efforts.”

That’s when IFC entered the picture.

Empower, Evolve, Excel

Understanding the nitty-gritty of the Sri Lankan start-up ecosystem is crucial to make real impact. In 2021, IFC partnered with SLASSCOM – with support from the government of Japan – to grasp the market and power up the nascent women technopreneur space in Sri Lanka.

For starters, IFC led a study to understand the landscape for Sri Lankan women pursuing entrepreneurship in technology. The study found technopreneurship to be an emerging career, with 82 percent of technopreneurs being under 40 years of age. Women particularly stated that this career path gave them flexibility to strive for work-life balance.

While there was potential for growth, startups face high costs and uncertainty early on – making finance crucial for survival. The IFC study showed women were hesitant to raise funds, with 46 percent never attempting compared to 32 percent of men. Female technopreneurs needed support in funding, pricing and planning. The need for know-how, access to a knowledgeable and experienced workforce were also seen as top challenges.

The IFC-SLASSCOM partnership initiated one-of-its-kind women-only hackathons, bootcamps and mentoring programs, providing female technopreneurs like Wijesinghe the opportunity to be a “part of a supportive and inclusive community where one could learn and share experiences.”

Petula Wijesinghe speaking at the Women in Tech Conference. Photo: SLASSCOM

At the same time, SLASSCOM also felt the need to develop a community where women in tech could meet, learn about industry prospects, and bring in the role models to inspire the next generation. The outcome was Sri Lanka's first women in tech conference, a two-year collaboration with IFC, attracting over 500 participants.

Remarking on the success, Shehani Seneviratne, Chairperson of SLASSCOM, noted, “Our vision is to position Sri Lanka as a global hub for technological innovation and excellence. The partnership with IFC helped new startups to pivot to the next level, develop new businesses and build networks. For some, it opened pathways to connect with investors and showcase their immense potential.”

Globally, IFC supports technology ventures that are creating new opportunities in emerging markets, transforming industries, and driving inclusive growth. In Sri Lanka, IFC also supports formalizing intellectual property protection and technology marketing for public sector incubators.

As Sri Lanka looks to reposition the country’s economy, maximizing human capital for innovation and value addition is crucial. “A thriving tech sector depends on the talent and contributions of both men and women alike,” said Gevorg Sargsyan, Country Manager for the World Bank Group in Sri Lanka and Maldives. “Partnerships such as this are significant in forging a favorable ecosystem for more women entrepreneurs to thrive in their ventures, creating an economy that benefits everyone.”

What started with 14 startups, has now grown to 110 – and SLASSCOM is continuing its mission to inspire women to innovate and lead, paving the way for more female-led startups in Sri Lanka.