Sri Lanka’s first live-recorded podcast with a live audience, The 3i Forum, is set to bring entrepreneurs, founders, students, young professionals and business leaders into one room to connect, learn, build and grow.
The 3i Forum, which Stefan de Alwis founded and hosts, expands the scope of The 3i Show into a live, interactive setting where audiences can listen to conversations with entrepreneurs, ask questions, and connect with others interested in building businesses.
The Forum, which is based on four pillars; Connect, Learn, Build, and Grow, aims to increase accessibility to entrepreneurship while providing a forum for people to engage with those who have built and grown businesses.
Hasib Omar, the founder of Moose Clothing, a homegrown Sri Lankan brand that has expanded beyond the local market, will participate in the first discussion. The conversation will go into his business-building experiences, covering expansion, challenges, and the journey of taking a Sri Lankan brand further.
Commenting on the purpose behind the Forum, Stefan de Alwis, Founder and Host of The 3i Forum, said, “You need entrepreneurship to drive the economy. The whole purpose of this is to impact the country. The Forum is about creating a space where people can meet entrepreneurs, ask questions and see that building something of their own can be a real possibility.”
The initiative’s larger goal is to position entrepreneurship as a catalyst for job creation, new industries, and economic growth in Sri Lanka. This comes at a time when strengthening the business community and expanding the contribution of local businesses are part of the wider national economic conversation. Speaking at the Chamber of Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) Annual General Meeting in March, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasized the significance of entrepreneurs in propelling economic progress and urged the business community to enhance the country’s economy. He stated in April that the government’s main goal should be to strengthen local industries, which includes giving domestic businesses more opportunities.
Against this backdrop, The 3i Forum aims to establish a space where aspiring entrepreneurs can learn directly from those who have built businesses, develop connections and gain the confidence to take ideas forward. Its goal is to strengthen Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial community so that new businesses, jobs, and economic opportunities can be created.
The Forum expands upon The 3i Show, which has included local and international business voices such as Sashee Chandran of Tea Drops, Dr. Gehan de Soysa of Velona Group, and Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Priceline.com and Booking.com. The show now reaches audiences across 24 countries, with its latest audience and cross-platform statistics to be added.
Stefan sees the Forum as the next step in creating a more comprehensive platform for entrepreneurship. The goal is to develop the Forum into a 3i Symposium, bringing together local and international voices to generate more opportunities for learning, connections, and collaboration. The concept is rooted in a simple idea: a fish taken out of water cannot thrive, but placed in the right environment, it can. For those who wish to build, the 3i Forum seeks to create that environment.
Digital 365 Holdings, Colombo Hilton and Hands international Group have been confirmed as partners for the inaugural 3i Forum, which will take place at Colombo Hilton. The 3i Show and Forum channels will provide details on registration and attendance.
For more information, visit www.stefandealwis.com and follow The 3i Show on its social media channels.
The 3i Forum is where the next question – “How do I start?” – can become the beginning of something.
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Image Caption-
Stefan de Alwis and Hasib Omar during Sri Lanka’s first live-recorded business podcast, held before a live audience at The 3i Forum.