Sri Lanka trade body pushes AI adoption to boost regional SME exports
EconomyNext: Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board (EDB) has launched an initiative to drive artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among regional small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), aimed at sharpening their competitiveness in volatile international markets.
The state export promoter recently concluded a practical workshop in Kandy, drawing 55 regional SME exporters and entrepreneurs to explore how emerging digital applications can optimize day-to-day operations and lower transaction costs.
The program, sponsored by Habib Bank, focused on deploying AI tools across critical export functions, including global market research, foreign buyer identification, digital marketing automation, and predictive customer engagement.
“The interactive sessions demonstrated how AI-powered platforms can help SMEs significantly reduce the time and resource drain associated with routine administration, thereby improving strategic decision-making and opening up new international market corridors,” the EDB said in a statement.
Uditha Bandara, Chief Executive and Founder of Bluechip Tech Limited and Bluechip Technologies Asia, who served as the primary resource person, demonstrated practical deployments of digital tools to bridge capabilities for smaller firms competing globally.
The Kandy workshop forms part of a wider, ongoing digital strategy by the EDB to build out the technological frameworks of outstation enterprise clusters, helping local exporters insulate their margins through higher productivity and process innovation.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s growing export sector is creating fresh business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors and technology companies as the country seeks to accelerate the adoption of AI, digital solutions and automation to strengthen the global competitiveness of its SMEs. Recognising the need to modernise export operations, the EDB has stepped up efforts to introduce AI-based applications among regional exporters, with a recent workshop in Kandy bringing together 55 SME exporters and entrepreneurs to explore practical ways of integrating emerging technologies into their businesses. The initiative highlights a growing demand for technology-driven solutions across Sri Lanka’s export value chain, creating potential business/investment opportunities in AI services, enterprise software, digital marketing, e-commerce platforms, data analytics and business process automation. For foreign technology providers and investors, the market offers opportunities to introduce affordable digital platforms tailored to the needs of smaller exporters, particularly in areas such as international market intelligence, foreign buyer identification, supply-chain management, customer engagement and export documentation. There is also scope for partnerships with local technology firms, financial institutions and industry associations to develop AI-enabled services, provide digital skills training and support the transition towards technology-based export operations. As Sri Lanka seeks to expand its export earnings and diversify its international markets, improving productivity and reducing business costs through digitalisation will become increasingly important. SMEs, which form a significant part of the country’s business landscape, represent a particularly promising market for such solutions. EDB’s latest initiative reflects the growing recognition that technological adoption is no longer simply an operational improvement but an essential requirement for competing in increasingly demanding international markets. For foreign investors, this transition presents an opportunity to participate in Sri Lanka’s evolving digital economy while supporting the modernisation of its export industry.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20261110Z_1 |