Fintech Association of Sri Lanka(FASL)

Honoured to speak at the Asia International Digital Economy & AI in Finance Summit 2025, where I spoke on 🌏 Harnessing AI for Inclusive & Resilient Digital Finance in Asia. My session explored how AI can bridge this divide, transforming digital finance into a platform for inclusion, resilience, and trust. 💡 Key Highlights: • Predictive analytics and AI-driven ESG scoring are redefining how banks assess credit risk, and sustainability. • The trust equation in AI finance depends on data transparency, fairness, and explainability. • Opportunities for Asia: AI-powered inclusion, resilient systems, and cross-border innovation hubs. • Challenges: bias, uneven regulations, and cyber risks — demanding responsible governance. • Path forward: regional AI sandboxes, ethical frameworks, and human oversight to balance innovation and safety. The message is clear — AI is not just Artificial Intelligence; it’s Amplified Inclusion. Together, we can make Asia’s digital economy fairer, safer, and more human-centred. Fintech Association of Sri Lanka(FASL) . #AIinFinance #DigitalEconomy #FinancialInclusion #ResilientFinance #DigitalTransformation #BankTechAsia #AIForGood #ResponsibleAI

Honoured to be invited by the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to contribute to the stakeholder consultation for the National Export Development Plan (NEDP) 2025–2029, representing the Fintech Association of Sri Lanka(FASL). The NEDP 2025–2029 aims to enhance Sri Lanka’s trade competitiveness and drive export-led economic growth, through an inclusive process engaging national and sectoral stakeholders. ——— 💡 Insightful Presentation at the NEDP 2025–2029 Workshop. Rahul Bhatnagar and Pranidhi Sawhney delivered an outstanding presentation analyzing the socio-economic and geopolitical context shaping Sri Lanka’s export development strategy. Their insights explored the continuation of the NES 2018–2022 through the National Export Development Plan (NEDP) 2025–2029, which updates strategies, integrates lessons learned, and adapts to a rapidly evolving global trade environment. They emphasized the NEDP’s action-oriented, inclusive, and measurable implementation framework — grounded in strong governance and stakeholder participation. Key takeaways included the rise of services and green trade, growing U.S.–China trade uncertainty, and new opportunities for developing economies as China shifts from low-skill manufacturing. Amid persistent trade deficits, limited diversification, and weak FDI-linked exports, the NEDP’s vision to add value to traditional exports, expand ICT and services, strengthen FTAs, and position Sri Lanka as a regional digital and manufacturing hub reflects a forward-looking response to global change. ——— I highlighted how India’s #Aadhaar and #UPI transformed rural inclusion, inspiring DBS Bank to launch #DigiBank and turn underserved communities into economic contributors. I noted that #GenerativeAI can drive idea commercialization but urged objective analysis through algorithms and Big Data. I also proposed #ADB support for Sri Lanka’s digitalization, led by the Ministry of Digital Economy under Deputy Minister Eranga Weeraratne and Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, to build an Aadhaar-style ID and interoperable payments system boosting inclusion and exports. ——— Dinuk de Silva, Rehana Thowfeek, Hasantha Kaushalya, Yolani Fernando #SriLanka #NEDP2025 #DigitalEconomy #Fintech #DigitalFinance #ADB #Innovation

The Brain of the Bank: How Learning Systems Are Creating Smarter Financial Institutions   Lakshitha Jayaweera, VP – Information Technology Business Lead Analyst at Citibank, delivered a compelling session at BankTech Asia 2025 on how Machine Learning and Knowledge-Based AI are making banks smarter. From real-time insights to interpreting complex financial data, he showcased the path to enhanced accuracy and efficiency.   A game-changing talk for the future of banking intelligence!   Session highlights in photos below. 📸 #BankTechAsia2025 #KualaLumpurSeries #FinanceRewired #DigitalBanking #FintechKL #WhereBankingMeetsTechnology #BankTechAsia25 #FintechInnovation #BankingTech #InclusiveFinance #FinancialInnovation #FintechAsia #KualaLumpurEvents #KnowledgeGroup #KnowledgeGroupofCompanies #KGC

Yesterday, I had the privilege of participating in the Sri Lanka FinTech Summit at the BMICH Sri Lanka where the panel discussion on “Sustainable Finance & Regional Integration: ESG-driven SAARC Cooperation” proved to be both timely and insightful. The session brought Sopnendu Mohanty, Group CEO, Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) – virtually from Singapore. Sopnendu emphasized that building a green disclosure infrastructure should mirror the design of digital public infrastructure (DPI) like digital payments or national ID systems—anchored in scale, affordability, trust, and interoperability. He shared how Singapore added a fifth layer – a sustainable dataset – to its DPI stack, enabling SMEs and micro-SMEs to disclose sustainability data with minimal friction. This model allows businesses to: ✅ Generate verified disclosure reports ✅ Access sustainability-linked loans ✅ Qualify for procurement opportunities ✅ Align with global ESG reporting standards His key principles: 1️⃣ Golden source datasets – reliable, verified information from public infrastructure 2️⃣ Intuitive data capture – simple, interview-style questions for SMEs 3️⃣ Standards for representation, not input – the system maps responses into multiple ESG frameworks He concluded that without national-scale infrastructure, ESG disclosure risks remaining fragmented, costly, and audit-dependent. For “start-up nations,” adopting DPI principles is critical to achieve disclosure at scale and unlock sustainable finance. ———— It was a pleasure to reconnect with Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka on Digital Economy. It brought back memories of attending a panel nearly 25 years ago at the Oberoi Colombo (now Cinnamon Grand Colombo), where Dr. Hans was a speaker on Intellectual Property and e-commerce. #Fintech #SustainableFinance #ESG #DigitalPublicInfrastructure #SAARC #FintechInnovation

Mumbai—the financial heartbeat of India—will once again host the Global Fintech Fest this year, with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer joining Prime Minister Narendra Modi from October 7–9. Starmer’s presence, as the first foreign head of government at the event, signals the city’s rising stature on the global stage. My connection with Mumbai began years before I visited, through a friend covering the Campa Cola Compound Case, bringing the city’s stories and contradictions to life in ways no article could fully capture. The first time I truly felt Mumbai’s heartbeat was from the rooftop of Aer, the sky lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel in Worli in 2018. The skyline stretched endlessly, a glittering maze of ambition—and yet, just below, the slums sprawled in stark contrast. That view stayed with me, a jarring reminder of the city’s duality: wealth and struggle, side by side. Today, the slums that once filled me with sorrow tell a different story. Micro-enterprises powered by #Aadhaar, #UPI #Paytm, and other fintech innovations are transforming lives. Mumbai is no longer just a financial hub—it is a living laboratory of resilience, innovation, and reinvention. A city where dreams, like its skyline, reach for the sky. -------------------------------------- Two of the institutions I represent—the Fintech Association of Sri Lanka(FASL) and the Asian FinTech Academy—are proud to serve as Ecosystem Supporters of the Global Fintech Fest. 7–9 October 2025 | Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai More details: https://lnkd.in/gJPgxnyv Gaurav Chopra, Sandeep Jhingran, Latika Kolnati, Kalyan Biswas, Vineet Mishra, Neha Gadi, Sakshi H. #Fintech #GFF #GFF25 #GlobalFintechFest #Mumbai #Bombay #India