Sri Lanka could generate $ 5 billion annually from digital exports alone, by 2030, says Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya.
He made these remarks during his address at the launch of the Sri Lanka Digital Public Infrastructure Summit yesterday (5).
“In an $ 80-90 billion economy, this represents a significant percentage of growth.”
He also noted that Sri Lanka could see an additional 1-2% rise in its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) annually by fully embracing digitisation, on top of its baseline GDP growth of 2-3%, and if digital exports reach the aforementioned levels, this 1-2% boost to GDP could double.
“As digitisation penetrates deeper into the economy, the growth uplift could range anywhere between one to two CAGR points,” Wijayasuriya said. “An economy with a business-as-usual growth rate of 3-4%, or even starting from a lower base, could aspire to achieve an additional two to three points of GDP growth through digitisation.”
Moreover, Wijayasuriya emphasised the importance of expanding Sri Lanka’s digital workforce beyond the current target of 200,000.
“Growing the digital economy to around 12% of GDP is achievable, but I challenge everyone here to aim higher- closer to 20%,” Wijayasuriya said.
He noted that increasing the digital workforce to 20% could potentially generate $ 15 billion in annual digital export revenue.
Wijayasuriya also highlighted the need to minimise the costs of doing business digitally.
“We won’t stop at absolute targets because, in the digital realm, we are competing globally and regionally. Digital is open, and we can’t rely on the strength of being an island. Once we open up, national competitiveness - and its correlation with the maturity of our digital systems and readiness - will come to the forefront,” Wijayasuriya said.
To achieve this, Sri Lanka aims to move into the second and third quartile globally in terms of digital economy maturity. “We will focus on improving our position across key dimensions such as connectivity, digital transformation, innovation, cybersecurity, and trust frameworks,” Wijayasuriya added.