The pandemic has entirely disrupted how we live and work is indisputable. And now (despite the other turmoil Sri Lanka is currently facing), Sri Lanka has the chance to come out of the pandemic as a hub for remote workers, or digital nomads, from all over the world. The last two years have shown that, for the most part, people can do their jobs from anywhere in the world, provided they are willing to make concessions about working across multiple time zones and can connect digitally with the world.
In a bid to expand Sri Lanka’s tourism industry, the island nation launched a Digital Nomad Ambassador program known as Nomad4LK. This initiative launched by the Sri Lankan embassy in Germany is a collaborative effort between the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Hatch Works, and enpact. These efforts culminated in naming Sri Lanka’s first digital nomad ambassador, Matt De Causin. In between his travels across the island, Matt sat down with Arteculate, sharing his insights on remote working and Sri Lanka’s potential to be a destination for digital nomads.
Meet Sri Lanka’s first digital nomad ambassador
Matt is of American extraction, originally coming from Detroit, Michigan. He set his first set of roots in Boulder, Colorado, and became inextricably connected with its flourishing tech startup ecosystem. The early days of his career in Boulder saw Matt working with early-stage venture-backed startups in advertising technology, SaaS, content marketing, and product development.
However, it was at Techstars that Matt got the first taste of the digital nomad life. He joined the global startup accelerator initially in 2014 as an associate. Over the next four years, Matt’s role expanded in step with Techstars as it grew from 15 to 50 accelerators globally with Matt becoming the Sales Director of Techstars for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, seeing him move to Berlin. Matt described his time at Techstars, saying, “I was traveling almost 70% of the time. I had an address in Colorado or Berlin. But the bulk of my time was spent visiting different startup ecosystems and meeting with entrepreneurs and Fortune 100 companies wanting to evolve and become more innovative”
Effectively, Matt became a digital nomad long before the term made its way to our shores. He was selected as Sri Lanka’s digital nomad ambassador after winning the Nomad4LK competition held at the AsiaBerlin Summit 2021 in Germany. It was organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Germany in collaboration with other stakeholders of the program. As the island nation’s digital nomad ambassador, Matt is provided opportunities to see what it offers as a destination and connect with entrepreneurs across Sri Lanka.
Digital nomads in a post-COVID world
Having spent much of his career traveling and something of an international transplant in Berlin for the last few years, Matt can attest to the power of the digital nomad. He looks at Sri Lanka optimistically for its potential to become a prime destination in South Asia. However, digital nomads were often a niche group of travelers in the past, primarily working remotely on a freelance basis. For remote work to be the norm requires a revision of business leadership and cultural values. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed this revision of work at an accelerated pace.
Globally and locally, we’re witnessing a shift in work as employees seek greater flexibility by working remotely. Responding to these demands, companies are now building remote-first or hybrid systems of work. “The pluses of remote work are access to global talent and less physical office infrastructure costs. This leaves you with more capital to invest back into your company’s growth or your employees’ growth,” Matt shared, explaining briefly the benefits organizations gain by embracing remote work.
The rise of remote working
With Covid-19 having disrupted organizational hierarchy and practices globally, now is the perfect time to build a new remote culture. If anything, the past two years have shown that concerns of “will people do their jobs?” are simply unfounded. The vast majority of remote workers find they can better meet goals while maintaining a meaningful work-life balance.
Factors such as not having to commute to the office or restricting oneself to a 9 – 5 routine are common reasons cited by such workers to operate remotely. Many employees would instead leave their jobs than return to the physical office and traditional workday. Remote working is here to stay, and the digital nomads are coming.
Sri Lanka’s potential as a digital nomad destination
From his experience in the island nation thus far, Matt noted that he sees “a lot of flexibility and agility here.” Throughout his travels, Matt has been interacting with local startup hubs, such as Hatch in Colombo, the Ruhunu Startup Hub in Southern Sri Lanka, and the UVA Startup Hub. From his experience working with emerging startup ecosystems, Matt believes that Sri Lanka will achieve its next stage of growth through strengthened collaboration with developed ecosystems. Already, there’s a strong foundation in place for such efforts as several Sri Lankan startups are helping US/EU-based companies build products and scale their operations.
The focus on attracting digital nomads is a positive step towards laying the foundation for such collaborative ventures to help Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem grow. But, of course, we’re still very much in the early stages of these efforts. While acknowledging Sri Lanka’s potential for a digital nomad destination, Matt notes that there is still room for improvement. Two key recommendations he made were accessibility and connectivity. The former referred to improving the visa process, which Matt acknowledged the Sri Lanka government is working towards by introducing a digital nomad visa.
From his travels exploring different local startup communities, Matt notes there is an overlap between what local founders need and what international nomads desire. He also believes that strengthening relationships between EU/US startup ecosystems will serve as powerful catalysts for local startups seeking to grow their businesses. Hence, Matt’s biggest takeaway from his travels is that there is a massive opportunity for Sri Lanka to invest in projects supporting digital nomads and local entrepreneurs.
Elaborating on this idea, Matt stated, “Imagine a renovated tea plantation or another historic site that serves as a co-working and innovation hub. It’d be a space where both local entrepreneurs and international nomads work, exchange ideas, and build further cooperation. These investments in hubs throughout the country would also stop the brain drain to Colombo, helping to build economic sovereignty and creative capacity within each province.”