India and Sri Lanka launch innovation forum in Colombo to turn tech ties into business

A business-led India–Sri Lanka Innovation Forum was launched on Thursday in Colombo. It brings together business leaders, startup founders, incubators and investors from both countries, with Indian High Commissioner Santosh Jha playing a central role in the initiative.

The forum aims to move growing technology cooperation beyond mentorship and pilot projects into concrete results. Participants will select joint innovation projects that can be implemented using technology and markets from both sides, identify promising startups for funding, and use existing business networks to help companies find real customers across the two countries. Organisers also want the platform to keep momentum going so lessons from earlier collaborations can be shared more widely.

The launch comes days after Sri Lanka opened its first Atal Tinkering Lab at Nalanda College in Colombo. The facility, supported by India’s Atal Innovation Mission, Hemas Holdings and the school, gives students hands-on space to work with robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing and design thinking. High Commissioner Jha inaugurated the lab and noted that India already has more than 10,000 such labs where students have built practical solutions such as automated irrigation systems. Hemas Group CEO Ashish Chandra described the Nalanda lab as a model that could be replicated.

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Over the past three years, the two countries have expanded links in startups and technology. India’s Startup India has run mentorship sessions for Sri Lankan startups. Nasscom’s Disha programme for technology small and medium enterprises has been extended to Sri Lanka for the first time. IIT Madras Pravartak has conducted capacity-building programmes and signed agreements with Sri Lanka’s SLASSCOM and Dialog Axiata. Other steps include a joint clean-network research centre involving IIT Madras and the University of Oulu, a visit by India’s biotech incubator C-CAMP, and alignment of major startup and AI events in both countries.

Government-level work has also progressed on digital public infrastructure. Discussions have covered the digitalisation of civil registries, UPI, DigiLocker, GeM, PM Gati Shakti and capacity-building platforms. Sri Lanka is rolling out a unique digital identity system, e-Sanjeevani telemedicine and an early-warning platform, with the first bilateral cyber-security consultations held in October 2026.

The new forum is expected to give these efforts a practical business focus. By bringing corporates such as Hemas, Sunshine Holdings, John Keells and Hayleys together with incubators, angel networks and technology bodies from both sides, organisers hope to convert existing goodwill and pilot projects into funded ventures and market access. The initiative adds a technology and startup layer to the long-standing India–Sri Lanka partnership while keeping the process informal and driven by business participants rather than formal government structures.