The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) announced today a range of programs that have been introduced to enhance Sri Lanka appeal as a sourcing destination for small to medium Australian businesses, start-ups and incubator hubs. 

These programs include investment and taxation incentives, strategies to close the gender gap in the local ICT workforce, and the introduction of the ‘All Children Coding Initiative’, with coding to be part of the school curriculum in 2017.

The All Children Coding Initiative starts in 2017 with the development of a comprehensive coding curriculum that covers both primary and secondary school students, and the participation of a pilot group of schools, teachers and students. 

The goal is to train 200 teachers and teach coding to approximately 7000 children in the first year of the program, a statement said.

“ICT is already taught as a subject in general from Grade 6 upwards. However, we believe that programming and coding shouldn’t just be limited to computer science majors in schools, so we are introducing a curriculum for students from the age of six upwards to help them to develop and master problem solving skills and computational thinking. Once they enter the workforce, these students will accelerate the move of Sri Lanka into a knowledge-based economy that leverages on the benefits of the technological advances to support our overall economic growth,” said Arunesh Peter, ICTA’s Director of Projects.

The introduction of coding into the school curriculum will also help to address the gender gap that currently exists in the Sri Lankan ICT industry. A national ICT workforce survey in 2013 revealed that women constitute less than 30 percent of the total ICT sector in Sri Lanka. 

Giving more female students the opportunity to develop technology skills and IT literacy through the schools coding program is expected to increase the participation rates of women in the ICT sector in the longer term.

“We are already seeing a rise in the number of female-owned start-ups and small-to-medium enterprises in Sri Lanka. This has provided Sri Lanka with an unprecedented opportunity to scale-up entrepreneurship among women. Increasing access to ICT is key to leverage this potential, helping to overcome barriers that are specific to female entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, such as lack of access to equity and information, and limitations on mobility and time,” said Mr Peter.

“With the national initiatives led by the Government, private sector and non-government organisations, an increase in access to ICT and training in IT literacy is providing opportunities for Sri Lankan women to participate in the labour force by opening up sectors of employment in technical fields that have been traditionally dominated by men.”

In addition to internal initiatives to encourage growth in the ICT sector, Sri Lanka has also implemented a range of measures provides a safe environment for investors, allowing 100 percent foreign ownership, no restrictions on repatriation of earnings, fees and capital, and the protection of commercial law principles and practices that are based on the British model.

Two innovative Australian businesses currently benefiting from Sri Lanka’s ICT sector, are sourcing development services from the Colombo-based IT consulting firm Eyepax. Both Sinorbis and Helloworld are using Eyepax resources to assist in the development of bespoke platforms.