Category: Opinion
Understanding Informal Remittances During a Crisis: Experience from Sri Lanka
By Dr Bilesha Weeraratne, Piyumi Ranadewa and Manisha Weeraddana: Introduction Remittances carry vast economic implications for recipient countries at both macro and micro levels. The choice to send remittances through formal channels such as banks, registered money transfer operators, and online platforms, as opposed to informal avenues like Hawala/Undiyal operators or family networks, plays a […]
Navigating the Pharma Landscape in Sri Lanka: A Personal Reflection
By Dr Sayuru Samarasundera: Taking paracetamol when you are having a headache or bandaging your child’s scrap when the child got hurt while playing does not feel like a big deal. However, imagine you have to pay a premium price for a paracetamol pill or a cotton bandage roll and are financially unable to afford […]
Public Investment for SDG Financing in Sri Lanka: Reality or Myth?
By Dr Lakmini Fernando Realising Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 requires substantial investment allocation, especially for developing economies like Sri Lanka. A recent IPS study found that Sri Lanka needs an additional investment of USD 1.4 trillion or 12.5 percentage points of GDP by 2030 to achieve SDGs. Despite Budget 2024 allocating 5.4% of […]
‘s raw talent into IT professionals
By Jekhan Aruliah For all its catastrophic consequences COVID-19 lockdowns at least had a silver lining for Sri Lanka’s towns and cities beyond the Western Province. Thousands of staff returned from Colombo to hometowns across Sri Lanka to be locked-down with their families. Many sadly lost their jobs, as their work required their physical presence […]
Sri Lanka’s Female Migrant Workers: Flying Abroad on Borrowed Time
By Manisha Weeraddana In a small roadside hut in Nattandiya, Asoka Malini, a returnee migrant worker, spends her days with a handful of vegetables. She worked for 6 years in Saudi Arabia as a housemaid and a care worker, earning a monthly salary of LKR 20,000. As a mother of two, Asoka now faces an […]
Empowering SL Women: Highlights from National Policy Conference on Women’s Access to Decent Work
By Kimuthu Kiringoda and Himani Vithanage In Sri Lanka, only 7.7% of working-age females are engaged in formal employment with decent wages and decent working hours. The country’s persistent challenge of low female labour force participation is compounded by a multitude of unique barriers to improving women’s access to decent work. Decent work is multifaceted, […]
Between Homefront Policies and Global Developments: Sri Lanka’s External Sector Outlook
By Nilupulee Rathnayake Having weathered a challenging period marked by a deep economic crisis, Sri Lanka is now demonstrating positive signs of an economic upturn. Still, amidst limited homefront policy alternatives against an unfavourable global backdrop, a critical question arises: how will Sri Lanka’s external sector cope in the face of these challenges? Notably, import […]
University Business Link. Connecting Academic Inspirations to Commercial Markets
By Jekhan Aruliah Entrepreneurs turn ideas into business and money. Rubbish rescued from tips make valuable construction materials and fuels. Microwave ovens and matchsticks, accidental discoveries, became huge industries. An annoyingly sticky substance sold as Superglue. Another pathetically weak glue led to Post-It Notes. Antibiotics and Insulin, discovered by chance observation, are multibillion dollar businesses. […]
Opinion: Energy, EVs, Environment and the Economy
By M. Rizwan Muzzammil According to an article in ‘The Diplomat’ (2nd Oct 23), the Sri Lankan government has committed to supplying 70% of its domestic electricity with renewable energy sources by 2030, with the longer-term goal of achieving a fully renewable electricity supply by 2050. The government is incentivized by “debt-for-renewables swap”, which enables […]
Borders and Budget: Visa reform will boost tourism and reverse brain drain
By Daniel Alphonsus Three million tourists are set to visit our shores next year. We will issue nearly as many online visas – millions too many. ETAs are a tourist’s bane: rather than dreamy sun, sea and sand, the weary salaryman’s getaway begins with the tedium of forms. The tourist’s ayubowan to Sri Lanka begins […]
‘CTO – the Psychologist’: A role banking tech leaders must master to ensure digital change
By Janaka Ediriweera Dr. Corrie Block, an Organizational Behavior Expert and a business coach in the UAE, asks, ‘If you were to go in for heart surgery, buy a new car, or say your wedding vows to someone knowing that there was an 84% chance of failure…would you even bother?’ He uses this metaphor to […]
Building Sri Lankan food security and self sufficiency in Jaffna
By Jekhan Aruliah K.Suganthon was only 21 when he setup his first business back in 2003. With the Sri Lanka Civil War simmering in an uneasy ultimately unsuccessful ceasefire (2002-2006), he opened an outlet in Colombo’s Pettah market. From Pettah, famous for its streets densely packed with shops and market stalls, Suganthon started trading edible […]