Salesforce to launch startup programme in SL this month

Sridhar Hariharan and Chamil Madusanka 

• Programme to support local startups with AI-powered tools, mentorship, go-to-market opportunities, and access to the global Salesforce ecosystem.
• Trailhead ecosystem and nationwide Future Force workshops aim to up-skill nearly 1,000 workers 

By Shannine Daniel

Salesforce, the world’s leading Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, will be launching its start up programme in Sri Lanka this month.

The Salesforce Startup Programme aims to foster growth and innovation for the local startup economy and provide access to the vast Salesforce ecosystem.

It will feature AI-powered products, mentorship progammes, joint go-to-market opportunities and a community designed to support startups. 

Salesforce is also investing in the country’s long term digital talent pipeline through its Trailhead ecosystem, a free, online learning platform that equips people with important skills for the digital era. 

Along with local workforce development partners, these measures aim to up-skill nearly 1000 workers through structured training, mentorship, and locally led cohorts. 

“We have a few initiatives happening all over the country. For example, the Future Force workshops and awareness programmes, where we provide an introduction to Salesforce, what skills people can learn and what their career paths will look like,” said Salesforce Practice Head Chamil Madusanka, who is also the founder of the Sri Lankan Salesforce Ohana.

The launch of the start up programme reflects Salesforce’s recognition of Sri Lanka’s rapidly evolving startup landscape and its rising potential for high-growth, innovation-led businesses, Salesforce Senior Director Sridhar Hariharan said. 

According to him, Sri Lanka is South Asia’s second-strongest start up ecosystem in, after India, and is currently seeing steady momentum in founder-led innovation, driven mainly by software and data startups that account for nearly 60 percent of the local start up ecosystem. 

“In a fast changing world of technology, it’s imperative that we be innovative, not only for our own sake and to stay ahead of the competition, but because customers have increasing demands and expectations,” Hariharan said.

“To protect your market share and continue to build relationships with customers you need to be innovative,” he advised.

Hariharan said the programme has made a significant impact across many markets, since it launched in India in December 2021.

It now supports over 435 start ups across India and Singapore, including more than 230 AI-first start ups. 

He added that Sri Lanka will continue to be an important growth market for Salesforce, with a growing customer base, comprising top companies like John Keells Holdings and Cinnamon Hotels that can drive digital transformation across industries.

Celebrating 26 years of innovation, Salesforce is a cloud-based software company headquartered in San Francisco, USA. It provides applications focused on sales, customer service, e-commerce, analytics, artificial intelligence, agentic AI, and application development, and helps organisations of any size re-imagine their business with AI. Since 1999, it has seen significant milestones such as the introduction of the Salesforce AppExchange, the Salesforce mobile app, and Agentforce.