Capital, talent policy overhaul key to US$ 15bn digital economy: Dr. Hans

The Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya has called for an urgent overhaul of policies governing capital and talent mobility, declaring such reforms “non-negotiable” to achieve the nation’s ambitious goal of creating a US$ 15 billion digital economy. 

He delivered the keynote address to the country’s tech leaders at the post-AGM session of the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) in Colombo on Thursday.

Tying the reforms directly to the nation’s economic revival, Dr. Wijesuriya, a key architect of the government’s ‘DIGIECON 2030’ strategy, warned that the industry’s exponential growth targets would be unattainable without a fundamental shift in how Sri Lanka attracts and utilises investment and expertise. “We are at a critical inflection point,” Dr. Wijayasuriya stated. “To move from a service-based economy to one that creates products and owns intellectual property, we must create a frictionless environment. We cannot expect our innovators to build global companies if their wings are clipped by outdated regulations on capital and talent.”

The core of his message was a strategic framework he termed as the “Three T’s”: Talent, Trust, and Transformation. He argued that unlocking capital and talent mobility was the key to excelling in all three areas. On Talent, Dr. Wijayasuriya challenged the industry to think radically, even questioning the necessity of traditional four-year degrees in the age of AI. “Can we not be radical and transform our education system. So can (talent) come out in 18 months and join the talent pool?” he posed, floating the bold vision of making Sri Lanka the “AI talent capital of Asia.” He stressed that this requires talent mobility, creating seamless pathways for top global minds to work on Sri Lankan IP, thereby enriching the local ecosystem.

To build Trust, a critical competitive advantage, he called on SLASSCOM to champion unwavering ethical standards, IP protection, and cybersecurity, making the Sri Lankan brand synonymous with reliability for global investors.

This leads to the final pillar, Transformation, which he said involves a macro shift from providing low-value services to developing high-value offerings like “Digital Transformation as a Service” and, ultimately, creating Sri Lankan-headquartered product companies.

“This transformation is impossible without capital mobility,” Dr. Wijayasuriya asserted. “An investor needs confidence that the capital they put into Sri Lankan innovation can be moved to capture larger global markets. Likewise, for a Sri Lankan innovation to scale globally, it must be able to attract investment without restriction.”

He positioned SLASSCOM as the central private sector body to lobby for these changes, urging them to champion the mindset shift required for the nation to seize the immense opportunity at hand. (NF)