TiECon Sri Lanka 2026: Transforming entrepreneurial potential into tangible global growth and impact

AS Sri Lanka positions itself on the brink of a new chapter in entrepreneurial growth, the inaugural TiECon Sri Lanka 2026: Go Global - The Runway to the World marks a critical moment for the country’s businesses and their founders.

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TIE Colombo Founding President Madu Ratnayake TIE Colombo Founding Charter Member Ruwindhu Peiris

The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) is the world’s largest nonprofit network dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship through mentorship, education, funding and global networking, with a community of 500,000+ people including 50,000+ entrepreneurs and mentors, 12,000+ corporate executives and 15,000+ investors across 61 chapters worldwide. Launched just over a year ago, TiE Colombo has quickly become a bridge between Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and global markets, nurturing innovation and creating pathways for scaling beyond the island. Daily FT recently had a conversation with Scybers President and TiE Colombo’s Founding President Madu Ratnayake, and Partner, Stax, a Grant Thornton US Company, and TiE Colombo Founding Charter Member Ruwindhu Peiris, where they revealed how this landmark summit is designed to convert Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial potential into tangible global growth and impact.

So to begin, in simple terms, what is TiECon and why is Sri Lanka hosting it in 2026?

Ruwindhu: As we were thinking of a theme to tie in with where we are as a world, we felt ‘Go Global’ and ‘being the runway to the world’ was a good theme because we are at a point where, more than ever before, the ability to bring out the best of what Sri Lanka has to offer on the global stage is paramount.

We keep talking about resilience and how much we bounce back. That’s all great, but you can’t always be talking about potential. You have to actually materialise the potential. And we genuinely feel that a conference of this magnitude and stature brings to Sri Lanka some of the most renowned individuals in their areas of speciality, not just as theorists, but as practitioners.