E-Sri Lanka: South Asia's Rising Tech Power
Last updated
Last updated
Draper Nation Hackathons are where real developers build real tools for real impact.
With 80% of government services now deliverable digitally, Draper Nation invites you to join a bold, open-source movement to modernize governance from the ground up.
Sri Lanka is rapidly emerging as a regional innovation hub, driven by a combination of strategic policies, a vibrant startup ecosystem, and international collaborations. Sri Lanka's strategic initiatives, supportive infrastructure, and international collaborations are positioning it as a burgeoning hub for innovation in the region. By focusing on digital transformation and fostering a vibrant startup ecosystem, the country is poised to make significant strides in the global innovation landscape.
Join us in Colombo for a 24-hour innovation marathon designed for developers who build, not just brainstorm. Date TBD. Here’s what’s waiting for you:
Get hands-on with APIs & toolkits from leading civic-tech partners—everything you need to build fast and deploy smart.
Dive into workshops on:
🚀 Growth hacking
🤖 Practical AI implementation
💼 Startup-style entrepreneurship
Dedicated collaboration spaces powered by Hatch
24/7 access and support
On-site tech leads, facilitators, and policy mentors to unblock your build at any hour
E-Sri Lanka Hackathon is a 24-hour sprint to build working tools that can serve governments. You’ll walk away with:
A fully functional prototype;
Business and product experience;
Mentorship from seasoned founders;
A spotlight on GitHub to showcase your work;
Sharpen what matters most in modern tech:
Business modeling under time pressure;
Prototyping and testing like a startup;
Pitching your product to judges and stakeholders;
Work alongside:
Other devs hungry to ship;
Digital nomads with fresh perspective;
Local entrepreneurs and civic thinkers;
Policy experts who can guide real-world use;
You don’t just win a hackathon—you help build the digital backbone of future nations.
The winner of the E-Sri Lanka Hackathon is automatically pre-selected to join Startup Nation's top 25 finalists. Follow the excitement as Hatch unveils theirs plan to discover, build, and fund the nation's most promising startups.
Just your laptop, skills, and drive to ship. No spectators. No fluff. Only builders shipping production-ready prototypes that could help power a nation.
This is your chance to contribute to the next chapter of Digital Nations— building solutions that governments worldwide can adopt and deploy.
We’re inviting a highly curated cohort of top-tier technical talent, including:
Blockchain engineers
Full-stack engineers
AI developers & ML engineers
Digital Nomad Visa Platform
Build an end-to-end system for Sri Lanka’s remote work visa— application forms, document uploads, government case management, payment processing, and applicant communications. Help position Sri Lanka as the premier hub for high-earning remote professionals.
E-Residency & E-Incorporation Platform
Inspired by Estonia’s model, create a secure portal for non-residents to obtain digital IDs, incorporate companies, manage taxes, and access legal resources—all online. Open Sri Lanka’s economy to a new wave of global entrepreneurs.
Anti-Corruption Reporting & Transparency Platform
Develop a tool for citizens to report corruption via WhatsApp, SMS, or web, with AI-driven filtering, geotagging, and a public dashboard. Empower watchdogs and media to spot trends and hold institutions accountable.
$10,000 Grand Prize for the top team, judged on innovation, technical execution, and public impact.
Special Awards for best user-experience design, strongest AI integration, and most scalable solution.
All-Expense-Paid Showcase at Draper Nation’s next regional summit in Asia, plus ongoing support to take your prototype to production.
Come hungry to build. Leave with real-world impact.
The top 5 winning team's projects will be made public on the -- open, reusable, and ready to be deployed by governments, NGOs, and devs around the world.
All accepted participants will be expected to deliver working code that gets published to the as part of a shared open-source legacy.
The E-Sri Lanka Hackathon will be held at , a startup accelerator and incubator located in Colombo, Sri Lanka, aiming to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the region. They provide coworking spaces, mentorship programs, and startup acceleration services. Hatch envisions itself as a creative workspace and community that welcomes innovators, deep-thinkers, and entrepreneurs. Their goal is to make Sri Lanka the hub of innovation in Asia. Date: TBD
Sri Lanka Ministry of Digital Economy (MoDE)
Driving national digital transformation through AI, fintech, and blockchain initiatives; co-hosting and providing strategic guidance.
Hatch – Startup Nation Initiative
Sri Lanka’s premier incubator, fostering entrepreneurship and bridging startups with government to solve civic challenges.
Veracity Group
An AI-for-governance firm supplying expert mentors and high-impact AI models for transparency and identity verification use cases.
