- A chat with Tracified Co-Founder Uthpalie Thilakaratna
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Tracified Co-Founder Uthpalie Thilakaratna[/caption]
Uthpalie Thilakaratna, the Co-Founder of Tracified, a blockchain-based traceability solution provider, is a corporate personality-turned-entrepreneur who switched from IT project management – a career she pursued for 16 years – to IT sales, marketing, and consultancy before launching Tracified via the StartupX Foundry, the startup accelerator powered by technology company 99x.
Speaking with Uthpalie, she shared that her journey of entrepreneurship has been one of leaving her comfort zone, balancing different aspects of life, and finding her true passion. Having already worked in tech, she shared that when she had her daughter, she made a decision to take time off and dedicate it entirely to her daughter, and upon her return to the industry, she set to work on launching Tracified, together with Co-Founder Dileepa Jayathilake.
Uthpalie shared that Tracified is fuelled by blockchain technology that facilitates a tamper-proof platform, which streamlines the data flow within a supply chain using a crypto-economic model. The originality of the solution is further enhanced by its ability to be customised to suit the needs of each business.
In layperson terms, it allows consumers to trace the credibility of products and services; an example being if a product claims to be organic complete with its certification, and if it is a Tracified product, you will know for certain the reliability of their accreditation and if they’ve kept up to date with these requirements.
She shared that the idea really came about during her time off, when she was caring for her first born. As a mother she was of course incredibly careful and concerned with what her child would be ingesting. “Even bigger brands, you would often come across news stories where there have been products that were recalled because something wasn’t right, so you never really know.” And so, Tracified was born.
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Tracified Co-Founders Dileepa Jayathilake and Uthpalie Thilakaratna with the awards won at the 2018 e-Swabhimani Digital Social Impact Awards in the Business/Commerce category and the National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) 2017 in the e-Logistics and Supply Chain Management category for their innovative traceability solution[/caption]
The innovative traceability solution has won Gold at the National Best Quality Software Awards (NBQSA) 2017 in the e-Logistics and Supply Chain Management category, and was recognised at the 2018 e-Swabhimani Digital Social Impact Awards in the Business/Commerce category. Uthpalie also emerged winner of the Founder Institute full scholarship in Norway for “Best Sustainability Startup Pitch” at Oslo Innovation Week 2018. Most recently, the company received an equity investment from 360ip – a venture capital firm based in Tokyo.
Having earned much recognition and success, both locally and internationally, Uthpalie shared that she is keen to encourage more females to take the leap towards tech entrepreneurship, making an observation that what hinders the emergence of more tech entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka is that “most people think that technopreneurship involves businesses that are 100% technology related, but it is also about businesses with either an e-commerce presence or with the potential to be digitalised. So in essence, any entrepreneur can be a technopreneur without being specialised in a specific technology”.
Uthpalie also made a reference to her involvement with the Women Technopreneurs (WTech) Forum
of the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM), which is a driving force that is enabling eager entrepreneurs to venture on the challenging journey of pursuing their dreams. It has created a positive change across the tech ecosystem in Sri Lanka and aims to harness the potential of female tech entrepreneurs to achieve the goal of 1,000 startups by 2025. It aims to support, promote, and grow women technopreneurs, startups, and businesses, with majority or equal shareholding or of CXO level, with the potential to generate additional export revenue into the country.
She shared that the forum is driven by a group of innovative female technopreneurs who have enjoyed success in their entrepreneurial journeys, including herself, and with tech being such a small community, it is an incredibly supportive community to be in.
“As a member of the WTech Forum, I see the value it adds in helping businesses to lift off and I am certain that it will be a true force for change, essentially by creating awareness among female technopreneurs, including those outside Colombo, on how to venture out,” she added.
“When you get to know other women technopreneurs, you will be inspired to find something you’re passionate about and one that will go hand-in-hand with your personal priorities,” said Uthpalie, inviting other women to get connected to the Forum and to build their journey towards being successful technopreneurs. She said that the landscape has changed so much that, potentially, tech is the place to be for women in particular, and due to its general flexibility, you can quite literally have the best of both worlds.
