Smart connected operations and assets, Industrial automation, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Electric and Autonomous Vehicles, Smart factories/offices/homes are all booming markets across the globe. Sri Lanka is aligning itself in the right direction to contribute towards this global scene as evident from the 30% increase in export earnings by the electrical and electronic sector between 2020 and 2021. The value has risen from 328 Million USD to 422 Million USD in 2022. Sri Lanka is posed with a challenge of a smaller market size to deliver to , which means that larger factories with higher production rates and revenue targets will have to focus on exports. Leveraging the deep-sea port and the close vicinity to India becomes logical options to up-scale production. Large organizations within the country are continuously seeking for opportunities to penetrate into the ‘Smart’ market which is definitely a good sign. Sri Lanka in known for it’s apparel market and are setting an example to lead by, for Eg: Leading Sri Lankan apparel manufacturer Hela Clothing has expanded into South Africa and Egypt and has recently opened its initial public offering (IPO) to raise funds especially for industrial automation, supply chain security, ERP systems, etc. The focus is required on a few initiatives in order to step up to face the global challenges :
- Support, fund and encourage start-ups working on the relevant technology
- Awareness and education on Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) as they are poised to become crucial to the market
- International collaboration is key to bring in the state of the art technologies to Sri Lanka
- Up-skilling and Re-skilling individuals on specific technologies
The Industrial Development Board (IDB) of Sri Lanka is organizing a National Industrial Exhibition – ‘Karmantha 2022‘ at BMICH between 3rd to 6th Feb 2022 to showcase the industrial expertise within the Country.
Statistics Source: Digital Journal (3 Feb 2022 issue ) and Daily FT (26 Jan 2022 issue)
