Sri Lankan government launches latest national branding for the ICT/BPM sector ‘IOI – Island of Ingenuity’
The Sri Lankan government has officially launched the country’s latest national branding attempt for the ICT/BPM sector ‘IOI – Island of Ingenuity’. The Sri Lankan government has reportedly assured a Rs. 300 million investment to create a global centre of excellence in high-end product engineering, IP creation and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO).
The brand was officially unveiled recently by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the BMICH, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) with technical assistance funding from the Japan Fund and PwC serving as consultants.
“There is no doubt that Sri Lanka needs a globally-competitive IT industry as a lynchpin in transforming our economy. In total, we will be investing Rs. 300 million in the sector over the coming year. The IT Initiative envisaged in Budget 2018, being implemented by the EDB, will have complementary programmes to help second-tier IT firms break into new global markets through a well designed and governed ‘Champion Builder Programme’,” Samarawickrama has said at the event.
Samarawickrama has reportedly noted that the launch of the official brand of the Sri Lanka IT/BPM sector – Island of Ingenuity – will go down in history as one of the most important milestones in the industry’s journey.
According to the Minister, the Sri Lanka IT/BPM industry had reached its present status not because of the Government but almost in spite of it. “Sri Lanka’s IT industry has emerged and become globally competitive due to the unique talents of the workforce, the focus on high quality and reliability and above all ingenuity and creativity.”
He has further noted that this initiative was an important action point in the IT/BPM sector strategy in the forthcoming National Export Strategy (NES).
“Let’s now all work together to truly leverage on this new brand and tell the world that in Sri Lanka you will discover an IT industry built on innovation and improvisation and an Island of Ingenuity,” Samarawickrama has said.
More than 300 companies and 85,000 tech savvy professionals are currently employed in the sector with a high IT literacy rate of 35%. The annual exports of Sri Lanka ICT/BPM last year exceeded US$ 1 billion.
OSL take:
The launching of a national branding for the ICT/BPM sector to create a global centre of excellence in high-end product engineering, IP creation and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) would expand investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s IT sector.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20180221/Z_3 |