As the 2025 national budget becomes operational, the Sri Lankan government has earmarked $10 million for a leap to achieve digital transformation, hinging on emerging technologies.
According to a report, the investment in next-gen technologies is expected to improve productivity and efficiency in key sectors of the Sri Lankan economy. Financial services, healthcare, education, supply chain, and government processes are the key areas of focus of the administration.
While the amount pales in comparison to the rest of the Sri Lankan budget, experts say it is a step in the right direction for the tiny Southeast Asian nation.
Most of the sum will be directed to a blockchain-based digital identity project designed to streamline national ID records. Dubbed the Sri Lanka Unique Identity Project (SL-UDI), insiders expect a mainstream rollout in 2025 buoyed by the new budgetary allocation.
India has injected multiple streams of capital toward the development of SL-UDI, with its total contribution at $35 million, over half of the $67.3 million spent by the Sri Lankan government.
Apart from the digital ID project, the government will roll out a new regulatory playbook for digital services to protect consumers. The legislation is expected to provide licensing requirements for service providers, encourage industry-wide uniformity, and establish a new Digital Economic Authority.
The renewed commitment by Sri Lanka comes on the heels of the country’s top brass expressing a keen desire to lead digitization initiatives in Southeast Asia. Sri Lanka President Anura Kumara Dissanayake disclosed in the Budget Speech that the digital economy will contribute as much as $15 billion each year to the national economy before the end of the decade.
Going forward, the country has its sights on training 200,000 residents on artificial intelligence, robotics, and novel financial technologies.
For Sri Lanka, the lowest-hanging fruit will be reducing cash dependency by leaning on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) rather than privately issued digital assets. The banking regulator has previously tagged digital assets as unregulated offerings, capable of costing investors massive losses stemming from their volatility.
Further up the pyramid is opening the floodgates for international technology firms to set up shop in the country. Currently, there is an indigenous effort to embrace AI and Web3 solutions in law enforcement, taxation, and tourism, with early results indicating long-term promise.
Alibaba Cloud rolls out new cloud region in Mexico in new expansionist drive
In other news, Alibaba Cloud (NASDAQ: BABA) has set up a new cloud region in Mexico, deepening its ties into Latin America amid rising competition with its peers.
The digital technology unit of the Alibaba Group is rolling out new infrastructure for Mexico, offering “secure, resilient and scalable” services for a broad demographic. The targeted demographic is a deep pool of startups, organizations, and developers and is expected to complement Mexico’s digitization ambitions.
A cloud region is an area with multiple data centers offering consumers in that location with cloud services, providing low latency, and minimum disruptions while being compliant with local regulations.
The latest cloud region brings Alibaba Cloud’s total infrastructure network to 87 zones across 29 regions, accentuating its desire to become an industry heavyweight. Currently, Alibaba Cloud has to jostle for the top spot against Amazon Web Services (AWS) (NASDAQ: AMZN), Azure, and Google Cloud (NASDAQ: GOOGL).
President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Selina Yuan described the move into Mexico as proof of the Chinese-based giant’s “commitment” to serve the fledgling technology market.
“We are not only bringing world-class cloud technology to support local businesses, but also building an inclusive and thriving ecosystem in Mexico together with our local partners, developers and customers to foster innovation, collaboration, and sustainable growth across Latin America,” said Yuan.
The launch of the new cloud region has piqued the interest of the highest echelons of Mexico’s government as the country deepens its ties with the country beyond its customer service center.
“With the arrival of Alibaba Cloud, we are getting closer to the consolidation of becoming a cutting-edge digital metropolis, which increasingly provides more advanced tools for startups, entrepreneurs and companies in strategic sectors,” said a government official.
Powering Mexican digitization
Going forward, consumers will have access to a broad range of cloud products, including scalable virtual machines, elastic computing, and cybersecurity functionalities, while being compliant with ISO standards.
Per the press release, Alibaba Cloud confirmed plans to launch a raft of initiatives to support the government’s digitization efforts.
Top on the list is deepening the talent pool via training workshops and hackathons in artificial intelligence (AI) while providing seamless avenues for Mexican companies to enter Asian markets.
Watch: Educating the government on potentials of blockchain
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