A Sri Lanka Investor forum was recently hosted by Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), the premier Chamber in Singapore, supported by the Sri Lanka High Commission. The event was well attended by representatives of Singapore companies including some from the “Wish List” of companies shared by the delegates and followed by B2B meetings with the delegates, a press release stated. The forum was held when the Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council (SLSBC) led a delegation of 31 Board level individuals from 26 local companies to Singapore in a bid to explore business opportunities. The delegation consisted of 11 Tech startups looking to accelerate growth in the region. SLSBC ensured and created plenty of opportunities for the delegates to leverage the strength of the network and get B2B meetings organized successfully, supported by partner chambers in Singapore. The SLSBC program kicked off officially on Wednesday 21^st August with a reception hosted by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Singapore. SLSBC introduced a novel approach by introducing several field visits as a learning journey especially for startups. A visit to ADERA was organized by SGTech on Wednesday afternoon mainly for the tech startups of the delegation. SGTech is a network that supports tech companies in Singapore. ADERA is a Singapore global company changing the future of data security and automation. The first day began with a visit to the innovation and entrepreneurship exhibition hosted by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI). The Chinese Chamber board warmly welcomed all the delegates where discussions were held on promoting the respective Companies to go to China via Singapore. The second day had two tracks for Tech companies and the rest of the delegation with other business interests. In Track 01, tech enabled companies went toA*ccelerstor, the commercialization arm of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), and Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) is a national private sector-led organization to drive entrepreneurship and innovation in Singapore. ACE plays a key role in building a dynamic and sustainable startup ecosystem in Singapore. Track 02 involved a networking session with the members of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) for the rest of the delegates at Singapore Recreation Club. SLSBC took the opportunity to sign a MOU with SICCI which was witnessed by the SL HC in Singapore. The delegates also visited the KPMG digital village or “Ignition Center” where all 35 delegates experienced the digital transformation of traditional products or companies where innovation was introduced using technology to make the product offering more acceptable to today’s market. The program ended on Friday with many positive comments from delegates where some are highlighted below. "The SLSBC mission to Singapore has been extremely helpful in highlighting not only established Sri Lankan organizations but startups as well. As a Regional Technology Consulting organization we were able to articulate value across a variety of stakeholders in Singapore who would also take our message to the region." Director/COO of Potenza, Mithila Wegapitiya said. "Participating in the Sri Lanka - Singapore Business Council Trade and Investment Promotion Mission to Singapore this year has been extremely valuable to us. As the delegation was from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore extended their fullest support to the Mission and made some very valuable introductions in addition to giving us in-depth understanding of the Singapore technology eco-system and how to work with them." MDTENGRI AERO Industries, Eric Wickramanaya said. Meanwhile, Managing Director of YKG Associates, Yukthi Gunasekera said, "SLSBC arranged two thirds of my prospective partner meetings in Singapore. The Head of Mission advised me to submit YKG’s wish list of “companies to meet” ahead of time, so that SLSBC’s partner chambers in Singapore would have sufficient time to contact companies and set up meetings. I was very impressed by the breadth and depth of SLSBC's partner network in Singapore, and would highly recommend other Sri Lankan companies to make maximum use of CCC’s overseas partners to open doors for them in foreign markets. I am very grateful to SLSBC for arranging YKG's most fruitful overseas business trip. " "It was a great and interesting trip to Singapore for the SLSBC Business Delegation. It was particularly eye opening to have a look at some of the innovations happening across the globe in the tech industry, in particular it was great to be able to view the opportunities that might be available and useful with regard to the Gem & Jewellery industry in Sri Lanka and Globally. We look forward to seeing how we might be able to collaborate and find some value addition to our businesses as a result." Chairman, Sapphire Capital Group, Sapphire Cutters, ArmilSammoon  said. In the future we hope to expand the program to benefit many companies looking for bilateral trade with the region.