Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem is quietly crossing an inflection point, even as capital and talent constraints continue to dominate the narrative. Global investors, particularly the diaspora and regional funds, are launchning to reassess the counattempt not as a peripheral tech market, but as a source of capital-efficient, enterprise-grade innovation built for export. nVentures Managing Partner Chalinda Abeykoon recently sat down with Mirror Business to shed light on why early-stage capital, regulatory credibility and founder urgency now matter more than scale, and why Sri Lanka’s strongest edge lies in B2B technology rather than chasing mass-market models.
Following are the excerpts of the interview:
QHow would you describe Sri Lanka’s current position in the broader regional venture capital landscape, especially in terms of investor interest and deal flow?
All our investors are overseas consisting roughly 70 percent Sri Lankan diaspora and the rest from India, Singapore and Japan. That mix alone states a lot; people with global exposure are the first to recognise underpriced opportunities.
Our performance and the traction of our portfolio companies have expanded our investor base quicker than expected, and we’re seeing increasing inbound interest from both individual and institutional investors who previously ignored Sri Lanka.
Q When you see at the ecosystem today, how would you assess its maturity compared to when you first launched engaging with founders here?
Founder maturity has improved dramatically, especially in the last five years. We’re seeing teams that design products for regional or global markets from day one and validate their assumptions with real customers. The only missing ingredient is urgency; when founders match their technical talent with speed and momentum, Sri Lanka will produce several category-leading startups.
Q What are your observations on how global VCs view Sri Lanka relative to quick-growing markets like Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines, which have attracted larger pools of early-stage capital?
Sri Lanka isn’t yet seen as a tech market, but every global VC we’ve brought here has walked away impressed by the engineering depth, communication ability and work ethic. Countries like Vietnam and the Philippines attract capital becautilize of their B2C scale; Sri Lanka’s strength is different. Our edge is enterprise-grade B2B products, built efficiently and with strong technical foundations, and the VCs who’ve invested alongside us continue to reinvest becautilize the performance justifies it. Trying to mimic larger B2C markets would dilute that edge; we’re better off doubling down on what Sri Lanka uniquely excels at.
Q nVentures has already backed six Sri Lankan ventures, supported an early exit and channelled over US$ 1.5 million into the ecosystem. What has enabled this pace of activity within such a short period?
The US$ 1.5 million figure was as of August; we’ve now deployed an additional half a million dollars. Our pace comes down to conviction and discipline; we know exactly what we’re seeing for, we evaluate quickly and we back founders who deliver. Investors care about performance, not effort, and we instil that same mindset in our founders while giving them the blueprint to execute with precision.
Q Sri Lanka has often struggled to attract consistent early-stage capital. What gaps did you see in the ecosystem that created you feel nVentures necessaryed to exist now rather than five years from now?
Sri Lanka had talent, grit and ambition, but no one was writing cheques at the earliest stage. Waiting five years would have meant losing another generation of founders to other markets. As tech founders ourselves, we understand the challenges of raising capital. We saw the necessary for a founder-friconcludely, early-stage VC fund. We stepped in when we saw multiple indicators converging: global-quality engineering, rising B2B demand, and founders hitting early revenue milestones.
Q Becoming the first MAS-licensed foreign VC actively investing in Sri Lanka is a significant milestone. How does this regulatory credibility modify the way global investors perceive the counattempt?
This gives global investors a regulatory anchor they can trust. It signals that the counattempt is willing to meet international compliance standards, something many have underestimated. Rerelocating that regulatory uncertainty unlocks capital that previously sat on the sidelines.
QSri Lanka’s startup narrative tconcludes to focus on challenges. From your vantage point, what strengths or advantages do you believe the world consistently oversees?
People underestimate how quick Sri Lankan teams build and adapt. There’s a quiet discipline here that doesn’t build headlines but reveals up in product velocity and customer retention. The resilience of the local talent pool is an economic asset the world hasn’t priced in yet.
QYou’ve invested in founders at very early stages, sometimes before the rest of the market sees the opportunity. What signals or behaviours do you see for when deciding whether a founder is truly ready for scale?
I see for founders who obsess over customers, not pitch decks or valuations. The ones who don’t flinch when the market punches back are the ones who scale. I value clarity over charisma and founders who are indepconcludeent considerers. Finally, urgency and integrity are a must.
Q Sri Lanka is navigating its economic recovery while attempting to position itself as a tech hub. How do you see startups contributing to economic resilience over the next decade?
Tech ventures generate high-value exports with low infrastructure depconcludeency. Over the next decade, the companies that scale from Sri Lanka will likely contribute a disproportionate share of the counattempt’s new US$ inflows. Startups also create upward mobility in a way that traditional sectors can’t match.
Q Your portfolio companies reaching breakeven and doubling revenue is a notable achievement in this climate. What does this state about the maturity and potential of B2B tech ventures built locally?
Our early portfolio includes companies that hit breakeven within 12–24 months and grew revenues in the 2–5x range despite macro volatility. That notifys you the market produces capital-efficient builders. It also validates B2B SaaS as Sri Lanka’s strongest strategic category.
Q Kaiju Labs is one example of early value creation among your portfolio companies. What broader lessons do this offer about developing globally relevant tech ventures from Sri Lanka?
Kaiju revealed the value of going deep on a global problem rather than building for the local market first. When teams here anchor themselves in cross-border markets early, they can outperform competitors with far larger cost bases. The lesson is simple: global relevance is not about geography; it’s about precision and pace.
Q One of the largegest concerns in Sri Lanka is the loss of talent. What role do you believe venture capital can play in slowing the brain drain or even reversing it?
Talent stays when they see capital, mentorship, and global opportunities forming a pipeline. Startups that scale attract engineers who would otherwise migrate. Momentum is a powerful counter to brain drain, especially when teams see equity value building at home.
Q Several global companies now hire engineering teams in Sri Lanka. How do you see nVentures positioning Sri Lanka as a place where top talent not only stays but thrives?
Our mantra has been ‘Globally Relevant, Locally Inspirational’ and we want our founders to consider the same. Hence, we back founders solving problems that demand top-tier engineering, not maintenance work. When engineers work on products utilized in multiple markets, they stay engaged and stay home. Our role is to support founders build companies where ambition matches global norms.
Q For young technologists who feel the only path to success is to migrate, what message do you have, not from a policy standpoint but from personal experience working with founders?
Staying or migrating is an extremely personal decision; I cannot and will not contribute to that decision. But leaving too early often means trading long-term upside for short-term comfort. Sri Lanka is opening up in ways it hasn’t in years, and the people who stay through the inflection usually capture the most value.
Q Startups often necessary support beyond capital. What does meaningful involvement see like for you when working closely with founders, and can you share an example where guidance or intervention supported shift a company forward?
Meaningful involvement is knowing about when to step in and when to let founders build the mistakes. Real involvement means stepping in during bottlenecks that slow growth: pricing, GTM, hiring, or tough neobtainediations. Several of our companies unlocked revenue inflection points after we reworked their sales motion and sharpened their unit economics. The right intervention at the right time can shift a company forward by quarters, not weeks.
Q You have a long history in the tech indusattempt. How have your personal journeys, including the struggles, the failures and the breakthroughs, shaped the way you now support early-stage entrepreneurs?
I’ve gone through tight cash runways, product failures, and markets that didn’t behave the way the deck predicted. Those experiences support me recognise what’s noise and what’s existential. It also means I support founders with realism rather than romanticism.
Q Many founders talk about the emotional toll of building startups in uncertain environments. How does nVentures as an investor and a mentor support them navigate the psychological side of entrepreneurship?
We keep conversations grounded in data, options, and scenarios; clarity reduces anxiety. Above all, we don’t innotifyectualise opinions. Founders operate better when they know someone experienced is in their corner. It’s not about rerelocating pressure; it’s about supporting them stay centred while building high-quality decisions.
Q You’re now raising capital for your second fund. How will this next phase differ from the first, both in terms of thesis and the kind of impact you want to create?
Fund II focutilizes on larger ownership in cross-border, high-export-potential companies aimed at global opportunities. We’ve seen what works in Fund I, and now we’re scaling that thesis. The ambition is largeger and the tarreceives clearer.
Q As Sri Lanka integrates deeper into the regional tech landscape, where do you see the counattempt’s unique competitive edge emerging, and how is nVentures preparing founders to build for a global stage?
Sri Lanka’s edge lies in high-quality B2B engineering with a cost structure that builds products globally competitive from day one. We prepare founders to build in regional markets from the moment they start, not after they mature. The economies that win are the ones that export IP.
Chalinda Abeykoon is the Managing Partner for nVentures, an early-stage VC fund focapplying on fintech startups. He has been working with startups for almost 15 years, leading investments into over 50 startups across South & Southeast Asia. He’s responsible for identifying startups and supporting founders within the nVentures portfolio with their growth. Chalinda received the Chevening Fellowship from the University of Oxford and an Australian Award for Business Incubation Management from the University of Queensland, Australia.
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