Brigitte Daniel - 2011 USA Eisenhower Fellow

My meeting with US Ambassador Adelman was a great way to begin my Singapore explorations. Ambassador Adelman was appointed to this position in 2010. Ambassador Adelman has spent most of his career in the private sector.  Prior to his appointment, he was a businessman, lawyer, university instructor and member of the Georgia Senate. Since his arrival in Singapore, Ambassador Adelman has made great progress further developing and managing the relationship between the United States and Singapore by actively engaging with government leaders, businesses, media, and students.  Under his leadership the U.S. engagement in Singapore has strengthened its position as one of America’s anchors in Asia.

During our meeting, Ambassador Adelman and I discussed US relations between India and Singapore, among many topics. It was very interesting to hear this take from a US official, particularly right after traveling to these India.  He expressed his feelings that US negotiations and engagement have been frustrating between India. Although it was a great move from President Obama to go to India last year and further establish connections and good will, India is still a place where we have to do more work in order to keep consistency and participation progressing between our two Nations.  We spoke about some of the recent protests occurring in India in regards to store owners and the new tax program that will hurt small business owners in the Country.  We spoke about how some of the benefits of India businesses partnering with small businesses in the US, would be beneficial to both economies. 

Lastly, there was discussion around technology and the broadband initiatives taking place in the US and how US models can be strengthened by infusion of global perspectives.  Ambassador Adelman believes that South East Asia can certainly be a model that the US should explore when implementing new and innovative policies as it pertains to technology and access within the US.  However, he did stress that it is hard to turn a government around when history has mandated the course of its action. I agreed with him. It is a lot of hard work.  But I gotta give it a try ;-)

All in all, it was a great conversation and I was very happy to have the meeting and establish my ties within the Country. 

I look forward to keeping Ambassador Adelman apprised of the outcomes of my fellowship program.  As stated during the meeting, one should never underestimate the agility and focus of the smaller US business…or a very determined Spelman Grad ;-)

B

In addition to traveling to India and Sri Lanka, I had the fortunate opportunity to continue my explorations and visit the Island Country Singapore to examine and compare more digital divide models in South East Asia, where development was more mature and infrastructure in place and growing.  

Just to give a bit of background information about Singapore, Singapore is a Southeast Asian City-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Singapore is highly urbanized and with the technological world advancing at a rapid speed, the City-State has become one of the forerunners in the race towards innovation and advancement. Following in the footsteps of California and India, it has been dubbed as becoming the third Silicon Valley of the world.

Moreover, Singapore, thanks to its small size and a big public investment, could soon be the first country blanketed with a fiber optic infrastructure so fast that it would enable the contents of a DVD to be downloaded in only a few seconds. The new network is expected to give a strong boost to the growth of services like online video and Internet telephony. Pyramid Research, which analyzes the telecommunications business, expects the revenue of Singapore telecommunication operators to rise to $5.1 billion by 2014 from $3.8 billion in 2009.  The new network, stimulated by an investment of 1 billion Singapore dollars, or about $700 million, from the government, will help the country leap ahead in an international race to roll out faster broadband speeds, a competition in which several Asian countries are in leading positions.

So…you can imagine now why I was very curious and excited to travel to this Country. I knew there would be great examples to learn from and organizations to meet in order to bridge connection not only within SE Asia but across the seas. 

One of the SL EF Fellows, Chandra Jayratne , wanted to make sure that I spoke to The Daily Financial Times about my experience and the Eisenhower Fellowship. He thought it would be great for the group and good press for the upcoming conference.  Of course, I obliged happily. Having done a slew of interviews in and about India,  it was a pleasure  and a change of pace, to have the opportunity to speak with press from Sri Lanka.

So in car ride on the way to a meeting with Virtusa, one of SL’s largest services providers, I had the pleasure of catching up with Cassandra Mascarenhas, a young FT journalist, and engaged in a quick albeit substantive conversation about EF and my proposed Fellowship objectives for coming to Sri Lanka.  The interview went well and Cassandra is a doll, literally and figuratively. Sharp and quick with a British wit and accent mixed with adorably petite and cute, means I liked her immediately.  She asked pertinent questions and she wrote feverishly as I responded back to her questions, slightly rambling, but definitely engaged in the repertoire, all the while giving directions and hoping my driver knows where our next meeting is because we were running late on time.

After the interview was completed, I found out that Cassandra was only 19!!!! Geez. She is planning to study abroad and major in of course, journalism. I wished her the best, took a quick picture, gave her my card, and sincerely added that if there is anything she needs or if there is any way I can help her desire to study in the States, to keep in touch and call me whenever. I meant that. Nothing like helping those who are doing their part to help themselves.  Loved meeting her and honored to have been interviewed. The very next day I was on the front page! Thank you Harsha and Sri Lanka EF! What a ride!

For those who like to read the interview, here is the link: http://www.ft.lk/2011/11/30/bridging-the-global-digital-divide/

As I have mentioned before, Harsha Lirne, my EF colleague and also a Member of the Sri Lankan Parliament, of course asked me when I was coming if I wanted to visit a Parliamentary session. I of course said “Sure, Why not”. I never mind seeing how governments work in different Countries and places.  So one morning, before a full day of meetings and events, Harsha picked me up and took me to see the Parliament of Sri Lanka.  Let me back up by saying that I when I first answered Harsha with “sure, why not”, that response meant exactly what was said, which in my mind meant “if nothing else has been schedule that is more interesting or a priority, I will visit Parliament. I want to include this sentiment in this post because I have visited a couple of Parliamentary sessions or two in my time, several in Africa and one or two in Brazil, and they can sometimes be very boring, unable to understand due to language barriers, and most members end up rambling on and on that a session can become a moreso just less than better option to the snooze button.   However, it wasn’t until I met the “New” members of Parliament that I realized..”Oh, these guys are different…this could be interesting”.

The first night that I came to town, Harsha introduced me to several of his friends that included Parliamentary memebrs/leaders who were young, passionate, outwardly ambitious, and very entrenched in making the Country better, stronger, and a more vibrant destination and place to live. We were all about the same age and this immediately intrigued me because although I have many friends and colleagues who are young 30 year olds holding government office positions and also passionate about politics and the politics that take place within their districts, I just didn’t think I would find that in Sri Lanka of all places!  So the night went on, the engagements were great, the discussion was interesting, the energy was alive and comfortable, and by the time the night was over…..I was hooked. Sri Lanka….who knew ;-) 

So, to speed back up to my visit to Parliament, I now had more of purpose to go. When asked again if I wanted to attend, it was a resounding “YES”. I wanted to see just what all of this endless dialogue, vibrato, private circle discussion topics at late night hours, actually placed in its appropriate venue. So I went and glad I did.  First, just on aesthetics the Parliament House is beautiful. An Asian design and openness to the building , façade, and grounds, is regal, welcoming, striking, and actually very feng shui.

After arriving, I was swiftly escorted upstairs, through numerous security checks and balances, and finally took a seat in the balcony, facing the Opposition side of the government.  At first, it was rather quiet. Saw my friends, waved hands, and sat there not understanding a thing. But then something happened, people starting getting up and talking and speaking in Sinahalese, faster and faster and there were active retorts and comments being thrown back and forth across the aisle. Well this was definitely not unfamiliar. As everyone knows in the US, these types of active arguments and heated discourse are very common, so at that point I began to read between the language barriers and grasp what may be going on…..a legal debate. Now the context was foreign, but the actions were not. It was very interesting. Good to know that in other places around the world the bickering back and forth of opposing ideologies and positions, take on the same tantrums as constantly seen in my own back yard. Now in this case, I didn’t know who to liken the administrations to, ie….what party is more like the US Republicans and which party is more like the US democrats, but what I did know was that in that crowd there were hard core facts…1) Not that many women are Sri Lankan Parliament Leaders ( Maybe 8 or so, out of 50), 2) There are young and very interesting leaders of note in the government, and 3) There is room for inclusion of technology to bring a bit of modernization and “pizazz” to the process and progression of the SL governing structures and bodies.

All that being said, the visit was a success.  Glad I went and saw for myself what all the hub bub is about. And Harsha was right, there is hub bub;-) Interest growing….

B

On Monday night after a LONG day of meetings, the Eisenhower Fellows of Sri Lanka got together and hosted me to a dinner so that I could meet everyone and they could meet me.  It was a lovely affair. The head of the Sri Lanka Eisenhower Fellows is HD Gunawardena. Mr. Gunawardena traveled as an Eisenhower Fellow in †he 1970s and remains one of the carriers of the legacy and primary liasion between EF and SL.  Mr. Gunawardena used to run and own a well established shipping company in Sri Lanka. He currently owns and operates a leading travel agency in SL called Helvanka Travels.   After first meeting Mr. Gunawardena I could instantly tell he why he was a prominent figure in Sri Lanka and the leader of the EF group.  He is a no-nonsense but very affable man has clearly reached a level of high repute in SL circles and is now enjoying his well deserved retirement but takes a passionate and serious stance when it comes to matters of Eisenhower Fellowship.

There were several other Sri Lankan Fellows who were in attendance that night. Although it was a smaller crowd, all of the Sri Lankan Fellows are extremely noteworthy, very active in their profession, and seem to be serious about taking Sri Lanka, and the SL Eisenhower Program, to new heights. This new height, coincidently, will perhaps be met next year in 2012.

One of the main topics of the evening was centered around the Eisenhower Fellowship Conference to be held next September.  I found out that night that the SL Fellows have proposed to hold the Eisenhower Fellowship Conference in Sri Lanka for 2012. “Wow”, I thought. “This could be huge”.  Should  an event like this happen, this would be amazing,  Not only for what it will say about Sri Lanka, its relationship with EF, and the increase in tourism beyond Europe and Asia, that will inevitably occur by hosting a conference of this magnitude, but if done well and supported, it will show that not only is the Country truly serious about its bright and shinning future, but so is the South East Asian region and  the US. 

From my knowledge, conferences take planning, coordination, partnerships, sponsorships, etc… There are many moving pieces, organization is key, a  good strong team of workers, planners, and executors, makes all the difference.  So when I found out about this proposed plan of SL to  lead the charge and step out front, I began to believe that “yes, this is exactly what Sri Lanka needs at this moment.” By hosting the conference this could potentially hasten the national transition process, in of course a niched way, but definitely will help to bring and usher in new partners or perspectives to the table in its redevelopment. 

Of course, when I heard that this was the goal….I immediately set my mind to be of help in any way possible. Of course, my attendance will be a given, however, ideas that are fresh, collaborative, and progressive, are in order to make this conference a roaring success! “This is right alley”…I thought………ideas are brimming galore.  Excited!

Alright then…..let’s go 2012!

Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka http://www.icta.lk/

My first meeting in Sri Lanka was a hit. I met with the team at ICTA which is a private/public organization that provides telecom regulation and recommendations to the Sri Lankan Ministry, creates technology focused public private partnerships between businesses in Sri Lanka and business around the world, and lastly fuels innovation in the Country by establishing funds for the creation of technologies and various applications.

I met with Reshan Dewapura, Chief Executive Officer, Jayantha Fernando, Programme Director and Legal Advisor, and Radley Dissanayake, Programme Manager. Reshan, Jayantha, and Radley, all took special care of me and my proposed Eisenhower objectives, but more importantly they took a very keen interest in the meeting.  They each laid out a very detailed presentation and discussion with me about the telecommunications landscape of Sri Lanka and what the Country was doing in regards to innovation, and how, in their perspective, the telecommunications and IT sector in Sri Lanka, is and will be a valuable alternative to the Indian powerhouse status quo.

Some of what we spoke about was that Sri Lanka basically has 5 providers who offer a majority of the services to the Sri Lankan marketplace.  These providers are made up of mobile providers, telecom providers, and government owned providers. Very little, if any, hard wire providers are in the current marketplace.  Like India, Sri Lanka leapfrogged technology and went straight to wireless and mobile infrastructure platforms.  Thus, most of its infrastructure is wireless/ mobile, thus giving the Country a “step ahead” to innovate and create a new and ripe eco system made up of Sri Lankan technology development, initiatives, partnerships, and creations.

ICTA has been building the agency and recommending to the Country m-governance solutions, SMS applications, and building funds to grow Sri Lankan technology development companies and individual creators of apps and IT software.  It will be an uphill journey, but ICTA is very confident in its abilities to capture a market and offer the world alternatives for business operations and service solutions. I am confident as well.

DIALOG Sri Lanka http://www.dialog.lk/

Dialog is one of Sri Lanka’s large mobile and satellite television providers. The company’s CEO is Hans Wijayasuriya. Hans is considered as one of Sri Lanka’s leading figures not only in technology, but in the general Sri Lankan business and intellectual circles as well. Quiet as kept, he is also being considered as a future Eisenhower Fellow and is on the short list of nominations to receive the honor and travel to the USA.

I had the pleasure of meeting Hans and we had, yet again, another very good discussion about the Sri Lankan telecommunications landscape and what the Country is doing to propel its once antiquated infrastructure, into a world class destination of data service and access.

In Hans perspective, he totally believes in the “Bottom of the Pyramid” (BOP) (see weblink)  marketplace and has analyzed this unique community in a way that I appreciated and helped shaped my own beliefs about the best way to approach and serve this very relevant group of consumers.  Hans believes that the ability to offer “life enhancing” content is the foundation to create a business model for the BOP.  “It’s not that they ( BOP) can’t pay..its that they do not want to pay”.  Hans and I engaged in a fruitful conversation about content and the development of a model to close the loop in offering ways for the BOP to consume broadband and ultimately purchase the service as well.  For Dialog, this is a somewhat easier for them, because they are a service provider. Which means Hans company is firmly positioned as THE premier mobile provider thus giving Dialog the ability to charge for services and include these charges in the monthly billing statements.  This may sound like an easy feat, however, its all “in the method of payment. That makes the difference”, states Hans. 

In addition, Dialog is beginning to also create mobile applications that are social service oriented and are interesting and targeted enough to get the BOP market to engage in mobile app purchases.  Interesting medical application along with television application platforms and agriculture applications, are fueling the Dialog brand into an entirely new stratosphere.  Joint ventures with application developers doesn’t hurt this progression as well. 

In the end, Dialog is positioned to continue to hold its stance as Sri Lanka’s number one go to service provider.  “Simple, cheap, delivery with purpose and applicability”, is what Hans confirms, is the secret to the future growth of the company.  “The facilitation of transaction that are fast and reach every village, town, and city center, will also be the important factor to building and growing the tele eco system in Sri Lanka”.  I believe him.  Renaissance in progress.

Lirne Asia http://lirneasia.net/

I have been hearing about Lirne Asia all throughout my travels and even beforehand from leading ICT executives and technologists. Lirne Asia is a  (get info from website). 

 I met with the iconic Rohan Samrajiva, Chair and CEO, as well as Sriganesh Lokanathan, Senior Research Manager. Both Rohan and Sri took a good amount of appreciated time to explain their perspective and thoughts on the landscape in Sri Lanka as it pertains to ICT, policy, development, and innovation.

Rohan, who has a resume that rivals any US FCC Commissioner or Chairman, is a wealth of information. He has taught in the US at Ivy Leagues Universities, was once the Director of the Sri Lankan Telecommunications agency, and is respected as one of the leading experts on South East Asian ICT reform and thought.

Rohan, like many others, believes that mobile is the future, particularly for Sri Lanka due to the state of the infrastructure and the affordability that a wireless and mobile network provides for the Country. “ You have to start thinking of the BOP marketplace as people who just have irregular incomes….not that they are poor”, stated Rohan. This comment resonated and was probably the most poignant to come from our conversations. It’s true, irregular incomes is what defines and should be the leading circumstance and factor when developing and creating a BOP model that is effective and successful.  He himself talks about the fact that he has an irregular income, not because he is poor but mostly due to his methods of getting paid.  He mentioned hits because everything that a company does to reach and prosper from low income individuals, must keep this fact in mind.  Irregularity means that a company needs to be creative, adaptable, cut unnecessary costs, and above be, be flexible in its approaches.  “You have to look at every cost item and beat it down”, retorted Rohan. “You have to, in order to survive”. 

We lastly engaged in discussion about some of the research he is working on with the World Bank and other initiatives to fuel the mobile application models and to produce social service applications that target and benefit the BOP market.  Mobile banking was a huge topic of interest as well as the idea that one has to “close the gap of the money” as it pertains to limiting the barriers of growth from the market and producing a relevant model that will capitalize and benefit the people who it serves.

Thank you Rohan. As expected, great insight and perspective from one the worlds best. 

Sri Lanka proves itself once again. 


Virtusa http://www.virtusa.com/

I liked the conversation with Virtusa because it allowed me to see that Sri Lanka had large MNP companies that, like many China and India, participate in the global tech eco system. Until this meeting, I wasn’t sure that a company existed such as this in the Country.  Virtusa is located in an old textile mill in Colombo.  The employ thousands and thousands of people and are growing at a tremendous rate. Their biggest customer is AETNA life insurance. 

One of the most interesting business plans and offerings that I loved about Virtusa is in regards to their social service activities and private / public partnerships that they have with the government and with non profit organizations to rebuild Sri Lanka as a Nation.  As I mentioned, Sri Lanka is undergoing a tremendous re-haul of their economy, brand, politics, infrastructure, citizen trust, etc…  Virtusa is playing a huge roll to transition the Country and the people efficiently and expeditiously.  They have several key corporate responsibility programs that I found very impactful, one includes the Campus Reach Initiative.   The Campus Reach Initiative allows Virtusa to partner with Educational Institutions and help develop curriculum, internship programs, the professors, advise of academia, student mentoring, and engage in knowledge sharing.  Inevitably, the strong ties to the school allow Virtusa to attract top talent immediately and provide jobs to graduates, thus offering sustainability of this model and progression of the Nation. In addition, Virtusa then offers awards and scholarships to those who they see as top in their class this offering educational full rides to those students who without help, could not afford to attend University. 

So Virtusa was definitely a great visit. Again, I was treated with the upmost care and attention and was very honored to have been shown a presentation by such a respected and highly influential institution of Sri Lanka!

Etialsat  http://www.etisalat.ae/index.jsp

My last meeting in Sri Lanka was held with CEO of Etialsat, Dumindra Rathayake. This was one of the best conversations I had while in Sri Lanka. Loved Mr. Rathayake’s passion and understanding about the power and future of social media, innovation, and the ability to spur the technology movement in Sri Lanka.

Etialsat is the largest telecommunications company in the UAE and has a market in Sri Lanka, of which Dumindra is the CEO. Within the mobile space, they are not as big as Dialog but definitely make an impact within the market.

Why I loved Etialsat and meeting with Mr. Rathayake is that through his leadership of the Sri Lankan subsidiary, he personally is progressing the use of content, devices (tablet), and innovation by launching entertainment and educational mobile applications niched to Etialsat users. Why is this special, because he is the only provider launching these applications in all three languages spoken in Sri Lanka, Tamil, Sinahlese, and English. THIS IS POWERFUL!!  No other provider is doing this in the Nation.  Etialsat is the only operator that has a tri lingual web page. 

In addition, he has launched a tablet using the Android device that will also be available for use in all three Sri Lankan dialects.  This table allows for more open and better access to broadband in the Country. His applications are niched to Etialsat users and because it is very affordable, it fits within the BOP model inherent in Sri Lanka.  In Sri Lanka, and actually all over the world, the ability to communicate and have devices interact and utilize local languages in KEY to spreading, organizing, and reaching the community, users, etc..                

What Dumindra understands is that the user experience is matters most! Also, the ability to have devices niched to the local languages is imperative for wide dissemination of messages, services, and adoption.  So if I was a parliament member that needed to reach the masses, particularly youth and users of social media to galvanize, organize, and mobilize, I would start having conversations with Etialsat and/or purchase an device from the Company.  

Lastly, Etialsat is holding innovation conferences and forums all over Sri Lanka. Just this past year he has held two and is preparing for another early 2012 with Google representatives present to talk about technology and development in the mobile application space.  Already he has a following of new Sri Lankan web developers hungry to get their products out in the open market.  I admire that Mr. Rathayake is taking the lead to push the innovation boundaries and develop young engineers in the Country.  Not that many private companies take on act such as this.

So Bravo Duhmindra for having a vision and taking ownership of the moment!!  Keep on leading and changing the landscape. Many well wishes to stay ahead of the curve and create and cultivate a future talent base for Sri Lanka.

Regards!

B