A high-powered delegation of Indian IT/Tech CEOs, led by Mr Rajesh Nambiar, President, NASSCOM visited Colombo from 15-16 July 2026. NASSCOM is the leading business chamber of Indian IT & software companies.
On 16 July, NASSCOM’s flagship Tech SME Mentorship Programme ‘DISHA’ was launched for Sri Lankan Tech SMEs at an event organised by High Commission of India. DISHA Programme is a structured, high-impact initiative by the NASSCOM SME Council designed to support SME tech entrepreneurs with strategic business guidance, organisational direction and actionable growth insights. Sri Lanka is the first country outside India where this programme is being launched by NASSCOM.
Hon. Hanif Yusoof, Governor, Western Province; Hon. Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Government of Sri Lanka and Hon. Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Deputy Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development, Government of Sri Lanka graced the event. The event was also attended by Dr Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy, Mr. Waruna Shri Dhanapala, Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy, and other senior Government officials, prominent business leaders of Sri Lanka, representatives from technology networks, think tanks and media.
The event commenced with remarks by Mr Rajesh Nambiar, President, NASSCOM who emphasized on the strength of the India-Sri Lanka tech partnership and the immense possibilities in the world of AI. H.E. Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India, in his remarks, appreciated the industry leaders of Sri Lanka for their commitment towards building a strong partnership with India in the technology sector. Hon. Eranga Weeraratne, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, commended the efforts of NASSCOM to launch this mentorship programme for Sri Lankan Tech SMEs and conveyed the support of Government of Sri Lanka towards this partnership. Mr. Maulik Bhansali, Chair of the NASSCOM SME Council, presented the overview of the DISHA programme and the transformative role it has played for Tech SMEs.
The launch was followed by a panel discussion on the theme of technology, partnership & AI with participation of eminent Founders and CEOs from both Sri Lanka and India. The panel included Dr Sanjiva Weerawarna, Founder WSO2, Jeevan Gnanam, Co-Founder/MD Hatch, Avinash Sethi, Co-Founder, InfoBeans Technologies Limited, Parijat Agarwal, Co-Founder & COO, Metacube Software, Sriram Subramanya, MD & CEO, Integra Software Services Pvt ltd and was moderated by Jiffry Zulfer, Founder PickMe.
48 Tech SMEs from Sri Lanka were selected for the first cohort of DISHA mentorship programme. After the panel discussion, mentorship sessions were organized by NASSCOM mentors for the selected Sri Lankan Tech SMEs.
The event highlighted the strength of the relationship between the two countries in the technology and innovation domain as well as the synergies for India-Sri Lanka collaboration in an AI world.
