Project Remarkable

Sri Lanka has been suffering from a 'Brain Drain' for a long time. And for many years,?I believed this to be a curse. But over the years, I've met some of these Sri Lankan. Those who escaped the civil war by swimming to India. Sri Lankans that survived suicide bombs to tsunamis.?

Deciding to leave everything you hold dear behind; isn't an easy decision. Building everything from the ground up and being a second-class citizen isn't easy. It takes enormous amounts of courage, determination and patience. We do not have the right to judge their sacrifices and call it a brain drain.?

Instead of looking at it as a curse, can we look at it as a blessing?

I believe you could!

Project Remarkable is an attempt to do so.?

Small and medium businesses are facing tremendous challenges. Our default mindset is that, with more money, we can solve these challenges. However, the business landscape has drastically changed since the pandemic. We seek capital to continue doing the old work in a new world.??

As I see it, we need two key ingredients before we seek capital. We need new thinking/expertise/exposure & new markets. It's hard to create new markets when your existing market is too small. It's also hard to venture out into foreign markets when you lack expertise and exposure.?

• First, we need fresh perspectives to revamp our business models. We need open cultures and mindsets to position our businesses to scale outside Sri Lanka.?
• Secondly, we need access to foreign markets, AND we need those who have expertise in selling products and services to these markets. We do not have the luxury of time to build trust on our own.?

Project Remarkable aims to fill this gap by leveraging Sri Lankan professionals who reside overseas. The persona includes six factors, and the target audience is estimated to be 2 million Sri Lankans. What is commonly known as a Brain Drain, I consider to be a Brain Bridge. It's a bridge to access Experts in the form of Advisors. And Talent in the form of Consultants.?

Instead of shaming people for placing themselves and their families first, let us leverage and learn their courage. They're not?Remarkable?because they lived to tell their tale, but because of what they went on to achieve in their lives.?I believe their resilience is key to our economic revival. ?