Lanka can be Asia’s knowledge hub - IT Expert
Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA
Sri Lanka is well positioned to be the knowledge hub in Asia,
Metanoia Partners (Pvt) Ltd Managing Partner/ CEO Nigel K.J. Dye told
Daily News Business.
The country is positioned to attract smart people as its environment,
intelligent workforce and level of English education have positive
impact in this regard. However, the momentum needs to continue forward,
he said.
Nigel K.J. Dye |
Sri Lanka has the foundation and needs to build on this platform. Now
it is time as there is political stability in the country. It needs to
position now where intense competition could emerge from countries such
as Vietnam, Cambodia and India in future.
The country’s technically skilled workforce is an asset and it could
capitalize from this to enter the global economy with information
technology. Not only IT, Sri Lanka could focus on medicine for knowledge
hub which is growing at a fantastic rate, he said.
People are health conscious and there is specialized knowledge in Sri
Lanka. It could look at medical tourism which is strong in Asia and is
expected to grow. Logistics is another element of knowledge economy.
For all these the country should maintain high level of quality. It
cannot position itself in price and needs to differentiate in quality
and meeting deadlines.
The set up of Knowledge Transfer Academy to provide business training
for executives and managers to understand the principles of knowledge
economy by Metanoia Partners is to create a win-win situation.
The Government is supportive of Western companies and this is a plus
point.
The marketing mechanism at BOI is encouraging, Dye said.
The internet has made the world flat. It is an important component of
knowledge economy. There are two sides of business models. We take
knowledge exported from Europe and bring them to Asia and take the
services and export back to Europe. Now we export and import knowledge
with new opportunities that internet brings together, he said.
Sri Lanka has great potential to market its knowledge in Europe. Its
geographical location is ideal to exploit knowledge and intelligence in
South Asian region. The country has reasonable telecommunication
infrastructure. The Government’s willingness to support and sponsor IT
projects is beneficial.
The country is an ideal place to check business models and
technology. The FTAs with Indian and Pakistan help in this regard by
making great deal of business sense to work in contained and control
environment.
However, Sri Lanka needs to have more project management as the
country has not been exposed to major global projects, he said. |