Global Entrepreneurship Week 2025 (GEW 2025), an annual flagship event of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), was launched on 14 November 2025 under the theme ‘Together We Build,’ promoting the role of entrepreneurship in building up economies and promoting sustainable solutions to the biggest challenges facing the world.
This year, Sri Lanka managed to secure fourth place in the global ranking for GEW 2025. The Sunday Morning Business spoke to the leadership behind the operation of GEW 2025.
GEN Global National Ambassador for Sri Lanka Suresh de Mel
How does GEW 2025 align with GEN Global’s long-term vision for strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem?
GEW 2025 aligns with GEN Global’s long-term vision by promoting collaboration, inclusion, and innovation across over 200 countries, directly advancing GEN’s mission to make entrepreneurship more accessible and sustainable worldwide.
Meanwhile, GEN Global’s long-term vision is to make it easier for anyone, anywhere to start and scale a business, focusing on strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems by connecting founders, investors, policymakers, and educators.
Another key aspect is promoting inclusivity so that entrepreneurship is accessible to underrepresented groups as well. Thus, the vision includes fuelling sustainable growth through innovation, research, and policy advocacy, as well as global collaboration to share best practices and resources across borders.
Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) Associate Chief Digital Economy Officer and GEW National Host Sachindra Samararatne
Could you elaborate on the structure of the GEW 2025 programme and how it differed from previous years?
The differences in 2025 were significant across several areas, especially in the level of Government involvement. We saw participation from the second-highest authority in the country, alongside the representation of three Ministers and the chief adviser. This high-level Government sponsorship was far greater than in previous years. This involvement shows the weight the Government now places on the initiative.
In addition to that, we also saw the inclusion of two major corporate partners, Mastercard and Commercial Bank, as financial sponsors, which also indicates that the prominence of GEW has grown.
Another key difference was the launch ceremony taking place in all nine provinces simultaneously. This aligned with the year’s theme ‘Together We Build,’ a format we had not attempted before and which is rare globally. Instead of a single central event, we conducted a satellite programme where each province held its own launch regionally.
Also, it is important to note that all the districts held more events this year, with increased support from Government organisations focused on entrepreneurship, digital development, and science to a greater extent. This led to a large number of events taking place across all districts and significantly higher participation from the grassroots level, especially among small enterprises.
Hence, from my perspective as an overseer, the operations have also become more structured. As a country, we have matured in our ability to run GEW, adopting the framework faster than many other countries I have observed. This is why we were able to coordinate over 1,800 events with more than 200 partners.
Regarding the theme of GEW 2025, the previous year it was ‘Entrepreneurship is for Everyone,’ and in 2025 it was ‘Together We Build.’ How did Sri Lanka adopt this theme?
GEW takes place in over 100 countries, and we take the global theme and contextualise it for Sri Lanka. How we contextualised 2025’s theme was by having all nine provinces commemorate the launch at the same time. This was a clear way to demonstrate the theme of collaboration through action.
Global Entrepreneurship Week celebrates not only entrepreneurs but also ecosystem builders. The Global Entrepreneurship Network, the main organiser, places a lot of importance on those who build the environment where businesses can grow. The theme placed significant weight on these supporters, acknowledging that those who assist entrepreneurs are as essential to the journey, beyond the entrepreneurs themselves.
Sri Lanka achieved fourth place globally. What does this mean for our innovation ecosystem and how can this be leveraged going forward?
This ranking is the result of a massive mobilisation of partners and activation. GEW serves to activate the ecosystem, and achieving fourth place indicates that the drive to support entrepreneurs has reached a strong level of momentum in Sri Lanka. In 2025, substantial work was done for entrepreneurship, especially in the tech sector, and through GEW, that energy reached the entire country.
This built momentum can now be capitalised on for more structured programmes throughout the year. While GEW itself doesn’t run throughout the entire year, there are programmes by startup support organisations which operate year-round. They can now capture this momentum and build on the energy to support entrepreneurs through their entire journey.
GEW can only activate, but the ecosystem builders must now take over to generate outcomes such as scaling, exports, investment, and revenue generation. The task now is for ecosystem builders and entrepreneurs to convert this activity into tangible economic growth.
What kind of impact did you expect from GEW 2025 and how do you intend for it to last?
We are already seeing specific results. Several organisations have dedicated budgets for this work for the coming year, and our sponsors have expressed a desire to continue their partnership for the next year as well.
This shows they are convinced of the impact, the activation capability of GEW, and the national scale it offers. Additionally, many activity providers have now planned to continue their programmes annually aligned with the week.
Startups also had the opportunity to pitch directly to a major Sri Lankan corporate and they intend to continue that work. We also saw great energy from educational institutions; for instance, the ICST University Park carried out the highest number of activities in 2025, leading to massive momentum. My hope is that they use this momentum to produce successful entrepreneurs in the coming year. This is the type of impact that GEW can create.
The organising team has also developed great skillsets and gained a lot of experience. This needs to be acknowledged, since GEW is run by a new team of young people each year, and this hands-on learning is a major contribution to their professional journeys.
Moving forward, I would like to see even more Government organisations coming together to support entrepreneurship and celebrate their achievements in the year. GEW is more than just a series of events; it is a milestone for reflection.
It is a time to see how the ecosystem has evolved since the previous year and since we first launched in 2022. It serves as a point to look back and evaluate how the startup ecosystem has evolved. I hope that this year we can do even more to celebrate these milestones with all Government stakeholders involved.
GEW Sri Lanka Programme Director Charith Kandamulla
What were the new programmes, partnerships, or activations introduced for GEW 2025?
GEW 2025 took a major step forward with a stronger national footprint than ever before. For the first time, we ran parallel launch events simultaneously across all nine provinces, while the main launch in Colombo was livestreamed to every province, connecting communities and participants across the country in real time.
We rolled out expanded national activations including community innovation events, school entrepreneurship days, provincial showcase platforms, and startup bootcamps tailored to local needs.
Moreover, our collaborations with Government partners such as the Vidatha Unit, National Enterprise Development Authority (NEDA), Small Enterprises Development Division (SED), and Industrial Development Board (IDB), together with private sector supporters from banking, ICT, and venture networks, enabled mentorship clinics, small grants, and market-access support across all 25 districts. Thus, GEW 2025 was designed to be the most accessible and geographically inclusive edition yet.
What are the strategies being used to ensure maximum engagement, especially from schools, universities, and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)?
For this, we ran an islandwide social media awareness campaign, using dynamic content, storytelling, and district-level highlights to reach schools, universities, and SMEs across the country.
We also established a core team to improve coordination, where each member was assigned a specific focus area, such as schools and universities, SMEs, corporates, ecosystems, Government officials, and provincial partners. This helped them to concentrate well on their segment and manage activities seamlessly.
In support of this structure, we also deployed a network of volunteers working under each core lead, creating a more agile team capable of handling parallel events and real-time coordination across all nine provinces.
For schools specifically, we streamlined communication with teachers and entrepreneurship clubs to help them easily run their own GEW activities. Also, at universities, we collaborated with entrepreneurship societies, incubators, and innovation labs to co-create sessions aligned with their calendars.
And for SMEs, we worked closely with chambers, sector bodies, and provincial councils to deliver practical programmes and digital sessions. This approach made sure there was wide participation and meaningful engagement across all segments.
What do young innovators expect from GEW and how does the programme address those expectations?
Young innovators come to GEW expecting practical value and not just inspiration. They want real opportunities, such as access to mentors, exposure to industry, pathways to funding, and platforms where their ideas can be recognised. Thus, for 2025, GEW was intentionally planned around these expectations.
To elaborate, our programmes provided direct interaction with investors, hands-on workshops on emerging tech, problem-solving hack sessions, and pitch opportunities at the provincial and national levels. Beyond participants, GEW 2025 positioned young people as co-creators of Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial future as well.
What were the challenges faced in executing a programme of this scale?
Scaling a national programme like GEW always comes with its own set of challenges. One key challenge was coordinating activities across 25 districts, given that each has different resource levels and community needs. This required good collaboration between the Government, the private sector, and our team.
Another challenge was ensuring consistency and quality across hundreds of independently organised events while still giving partners creative freedom. Also, in order to reach marginalised groups like rural youth, women entrepreneurs, micro-businesses, etc., both logistical planning and localised solutions are required.
However, despite these challenges, our strong partner network, expanded provincial teams, and improved digital infrastructure let us deliver a structured, adaptive programme. Every year, GEW teaches us something new and those learnings help us scale the impact even further.
ICTA Director of Industry Development Chiranthi Balapatabendi
What role did digital transformation play in GEW 2025 and how was ICTA supporting its integration across the island?
With the conclusion of GEW 2025, it is clear that digital transformation continues to play a defining role in empowering youth and communities across Sri Lanka. Digital tools have become a catalyst for more inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial growth, by expanding access to information, skills, markets, and networks.
Throughout GEW 2025, ICTA supported the integration of digital platforms and resources across regional initiatives, making certain that entrepreneurs from all parts of the island could benefit. This included strengthening digital skills through targeted workshops, enabling wider market access via e-commerce and digital payment solutions.
There was also facilitation of collaboration among ecosystem partners through digital communication tools. Thus, ICTA’s contribution helped democratise participation, where young innovators and community-based entrepreneurs were able to engage more confidently in this rapidly evolving digital economy.
Hence, with the momentum of GEW 2025 now carried forward, digital transformation remains central to building a more inclusive, connected, and opportunity-rich entrepreneurial ecosystem for Sri Lanka.