The recent scenes from Sri Lanka seemed straight out of different times and different territories – mostly non-violent protests with mammoth crowds of protesters throughout history. This is India in 1930 or the Salt March led by Mohandas Gandhi in an act of civil disobedience to protest British rule. This is the May 1968 protest in France when students raged against capitalism, corruption, and American imperialism. Perhaps, this is Bangladesh in 1971 or Manila in 1986 when we toppled a dictator.
The protests in Sri Lanka, which had been gaining strength for months, reached a dramatic turn last week when demonstrators stormed the presidential palace. They demanded an end to the devastating economic crisis that has hit the country because of corruption and the populist policies of their president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who has since left the country and resigned.
It all looks chaotic and one can’t help but feel sorry for the citizens of the South Asian country because of the uncertainty, the difficult environment, and like us, the perennial struggle for self-realization.
But during a dinner last week hosted by the Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Philippines Shobini Gunasekera, I learned that as chaotic as it seems, it’s still business as usual in their country.
“It’s business as usual. The export sector is not affected at all. Banks are open, government services are available,” said the Ambassador.
Sri Lanka’s export trade continues - from textile and apparel to the famed Ceylon tea.
The so-called Pearl of the Indian Ocean exports mostly textiles and garments, said the Ambassador’s husband, Alexi Gunasekera, who previously served as commercial minister.
Sri Lanka’s apparel exports comprise 52 percent of total exports while the world-famous tea accounts for 17 percent. Other export products include: spices, gems, coconut products, rubber and fish. Main export partners are the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and Italy, industry data shows.
Sri Lanka’s software industry
Ambassador Shobini put the spotlight on Sri Lanka’s growing software industry.
The IT companies from her country can help Philippine MSMEs because “they have a solution to every business problem,” she said.
“The software industry in Sri Lanka can have synergy with Philippine MSMEs.”
Indeed, Sri Lanka, branded as the Island of Ingenuity, is renowned for its talent in developing creative solutions to business problems in all forms of industries around the world.
The country aims to become a global IT-BPM destination. The industry is foreseen to develop into a $5 billion export industry by 2025, creating 200,000 direct jobs and launching 1,000 start-ups.
At present, several Sri Lankan software and BPM companies have already established their operations in the Philippines.
The Ambassador said that in recognition of the benefits of utilizing the Philippines’ industry strength and capabilities, there is a strong interest from Sri Lankan industry stakeholders to explore opportunities to collaborate with their counterparts for third market export destinations.
In all, Ambassador Shobini, who started her assignment in the Philippines in 2019, says Sri Lanka’s IT sector “is an engine of growth and can help their country recover” from the ongoing crisis.
hSenid Group of Companies
During the dinner, I also met Sri Lankan businessman Dinesh Saparamadu, Sri Lanka’s Entrepreneur of the Year for 2014 and chairman of hSenid Group of Companies, which is focused on product development in human resources, mobile platforms, and e-commerce platforms.
hSenid, which is already in more than 55 countries worldwide, is setting up shop in the Philippines to offer its e-commerce solutions to Philippine MSMEs.
He talked about hSenid’s appiGo, a platform for e-commerce development that can help businesses take their products to the international market through digitized platforms.
The appiGo platform can offer companies access to the global marketplace, including digital marketing assistance etc., he said.
There’s a lot of potential in the global e-commerce market, especially since the pandemic struck, Dinesh said.
Bileeta
I also met Sanji de Silva, CEO of Bileeta, a technology company that “develops innovative enterprise solutions to help companies.”
He said that with their company’s suite of services such as electronic logistics management information solutions, business intelligence solutions, custom-made software developments and e-commerce solutions, they can also help Philippine MSMEs grow bigger.
Elephant diplomacy
Ambassador Shobini expressed hopes that Sri Lanka can turn to the Philippines once again for support, especially in these challenging times, through potential business partnerships with their IT sector.
Sri Lanka and The Philippines, she says, have always enjoyed strong relations in many areas, including economic, trade, agriculture, culture, etc.
In the late 19th century, the Philippine’s National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, thrice visited Colombo and cultivated friendships.
To honor this historical link, a suite in the Grand Oriental Hotel in Colombo, where Dr. Rizal stayed during his visits, has been named the “Jose Rizal Suite”.
Ambassador Shobini also shared an interesting trivia about Vishwamali, more popularly known as Mali, the famed elephant in Manila Zoo.
She said the Sri-Lankan born female elephant, now in her late 40s, was a gift from the Sri Lankan government in 1977 to former First Lady Imelda Marcos.
Mali, she said, is indeed a symbol of the friendship between the Philippines and Sri Lanka, a friendship that continues to this day and will continue for decades on.
Iris Gonzales’ email address is eyesgonzales@gmail.com.
Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com