US-supported Sri Lanka @100 webinar receives positive response

Sri Lanka@100, a private sector-led business development programme supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), hosted a public webinar with guest speaker Iora Health CEO and Co-founder Rushika Fernandopulle, to inspire mid-market companies with insight into creating a successful business. 

Fernandopulle is a practicing physician and entrepreneur who co-founded Iora Health, a start-up healthcare provider in the U.S. that scaled up to become a US $ 2 billion enterprise within the span of a decade. He shared his knowledge and experience in creating and leading a new company, including identifying a target market, crafting a business model, raising capital and enhancing brand awareness.

“The world is full of problems that cannot be solved by the current way of doing things and start-ups and SMEs have the potential to create huge amounts of value, either as independent companies or within larger organisations. But being successful takes courage, creativity and patience and the willingness to fail (but to learn from these failures). I think entrepreneurial activity can play a large part in helping to achieve the goals of Sri Lanka @100 companies and needs to be nurtured and supported to be successful,” said Fernandopulle.

The event attracted more than 300 participants representing senior leadership of local large-cap corporations, healthcare and pharmaceutical organisations and banks and financial institutions. The webinar was the fourth in a series of events hosted by Sri Lanka@100 to embolden local businesses to adapt to the shifting business landscape by working toward sustainable revenue growth, employing innovative strategies and adapting business models to respond to a dynamic global economy.

Sri Lanka@100 co-founder Dr. Kumudu Gunasekera noted, “Starting a business and scaling it up is no easy feat. Rushika’s insights and hands-on experience will no doubt help our Sri Lankan companies to understand what they need to do to succeed globally and how they can potentially attract capital, etc.”

“Through our Sri Lanka@100 project, USAID provides business development support to local firms as they scale up,” said USAID/Sri Lanka Mission Director Reed Aeschliman.

“We hope that today’s webinar, featuring a top-tier, successful entrepreneur, inspires businesses as they progress toward their growth goals.”