Sri Lanka grappling with economic nationalism, says Eran
Sri Lanka is grappling with economic nationalism by imposing tariffs and other restrictions on the movement of labour, goods and capital. The country must open up from this state of ideology, argues State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne.
Attending the ‘Boost your Business’ programme organised by Facebook and Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) at Hotel Galadari in Colombo on Wednesday, the Minister also said: “It’s a dilemma in the tourism, tea, rubber and coconut industries in Sri Lanka whereas it’s high time the country focuses on exporting technology that is developed in the country. We want to connect Sri Lankan companies to global value chains.”
At the forum, State Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, Harsha de Silva elaborated on some of the obstacles the Sri Lankan technology sector faces. “Infrastructural delays in providing Internet facility, insufficient human resources, lack of financing and no proper payment platform are some of the obstacles the industry faces,” he pointed out.
Constructive engagement of people through social media while creating a digitally empowered society is what the government is looking at through Facebook after the recent incident in Digana, ICTA Chairman Rohan Samarajiva stated. Governments’ concerns should be communicated to the partners through social media platforms, he added.
Meanwhile Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, Harin Fernando stated that Facebook has become very smart by helping entrepreneurs boost their businesses via social media. “Marketing is a very big issue within the government. The right reasons for making use of social media have not been focused on yet,” he noted. He also mentioned that people have more negative stories to share on social media than the positive news articles.
Facebook Business Development Manager for South Asia, Kushagra Sagar explained how entrepreneurs can boost their businesses through Facebook. He said, “There are 2.2 billion Facebook and 1.5 billion WhatsApp users worldwide. Creating a page for your business, posting and promoting it, doesn’t take much time. What you post and who your audience is, is what matters.”
People don’t want to read lengthy posts and content that doesn’t make sense. Strong content articulated in short format attracts people to read. Also based on how responsive a page is, it is likely for businesses to get more reaches and that in turn generates sales and leads. An advertisement must create the curiosity among people to view or play it if it’s a video ad. A brand has to tell a story to the people for them to purchase the product online or by visiting the outlet, noted Mr. Sagar.
It’s a dilemma in the tourism, tea, rubber and coconut industries in Sri Lanka whereas it’s high time the country focuses on exporting technology that is developed in the country. We want to connect Sri Lankan companies to global value chains