Industrial Development Board of Ceylon (IDB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the  Federation of Information Technology (Guarantee) Limited (FITIS)  on 18^th January 2024, on expanding IDB activities into ICT Industry. IDB currently assist Micro, Small, Medium and Large scale enterprises under twenty five industry sectors and 162 subsectors.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma, Chairman of IDB explained that “this MoU will enable IDB to digitally transform these industries enabling them to contribute to the government’s digital economy initiative.” He further emphasized the need to bring the SMEs to the digital domain to strengthen their approach towards an export-oriented economy assisted by new technology.

FITIS is the apex industry body in the ICT Sector with close to 200 member companies covering different areas of ICT such as Hardware & Infrastructure, Software, Digital Services, Education & Training, etc.  FITIS conducts major annual events such as INFOTEL, Young Computer Scientist Competition, APIASIA Conference etc, to bring new technologies to Sri Lanka.

Mr Indika De Zoysa, the Chairman of FITIS explained the activities now being carried out by FITIS to assist the SMEs to expand and develop their business operations by adopting the  digital technology. One such initiative is DigiGo.lk where the Digital Services Chapter conducts programmes at district level to educate and assist SMEs to utilize digital technology. He stated that FITIS is working very closely with Ministry of Technology in supporting the Government’s effort expand the Digital Economy through DigiEcon 2030 programme.

This MoU will provide both the IDB and FITIS to work together to digitally enable  the SMEs and thereby improving and expanding their businesses, thus increasing their revenue. The collaboration between IDB and FITIS will pave the way to reach Overseas market  for SMEs and FITIS Members under ICT as an Industry Section, as it is seen as a priority objective for IDB.

Dr. Saranga Alahapperuma Chairman, Mr. H. M. S. Samarakoon Director General,   Mr. G. N. Morawakage, Assistant Director (IT Unit), Ms. S. T. Weraniyagoda, Assistant Director (Legal) and Mr. V. Iresh Piyatilleke - Enterprise Promotion Officer (IT Unit) participated from IDB at the signing of the MoU. Mr Indika De Zoysa Chairman FITIS, Mr Sanjaya Dayananda President Software Chapter of FITIS and Mr. Jayasiri Amarasena CEO of FITIS also participated.

The purpose of this MoU is to jointly carry out activities in the areas identified for improvement, for the benefit of FITIS members and SME’s in industry. The areas identified for collaboration include;

ICT as an Enabler :  Awareness and Education, Access to Technology, Digital Skills Development, Technology Adoption Support, etc.

ICT as an Industry :  Identify and advise on the potential skill areas, Enhance Human Capital, Promote Entrepreneurship and Startups, Foster Innovation and Research, etc.

The officials of IDB and FITIS will coordinate and conduct joint workshops and industry events, to achieve the goals of this MoU.