Internet pioneer and Chair Emeritus of MIT/Stanford Venture Lab to speak in Sri Lanka

In the new environment of rapid technological advances and globalizing trade, modern small businesses are playing a significant role in creating innovative employment opportunities, income and growth with equity.

In this setting California’s Silicon Valley symbolizes the entrepreneurial spirit which has made American business the world’s pace-setter for inventiveness and technological advancements, leading to a lucrative  venture capital industry.

Industry has for a long-time wondered about the culture of entrepreneurial firms in Sri Lanka and has shown a thirst to study them, experts say, especially in the context of bettering and fast pacing the growth prospects in Sri Lanka which is reaping the benefits of peace.

This is where Infotechs IDEAS (www.infotechs-ideas.com) has stepped in to host a workshop by Gigi Wang; who sits on the boards of the MIT/Stanford Venture Lab and the Wireless Communications Alliance which are leading high tech forums in the Silicon Valley promoting entrepreneurship, along with technology and business innovation. The workshop/seminar will be conducted on 8 August in Colombo.

“She will be speaking on ‘Lessons from the Successes of the Silicon Valley – what Sri Lankan Technology leaders, managers, entrepreneurs, educators, investors, bankers and policy makers can learn and do’. She will also lead a serious and thought provoking discussion on how entrepreneurial companies recognise, enhance and harness the creative talents of the human spirit,” Infotechs Group of Companies Chairman Susantha Pinto said.  He added that her main goals in visiting Sri Lanka are to assist Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and businesses understand the success drivers for innovation and entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley, while learning about the different models for nurturing and incubating entrepreneurs.

“She will also develop and refine model(s) to replicate the innovation and entrepreneurial success of Silicon Valley, adapted for the Sri Lankan business culture,” he said, adding that she will also address the role played by the two leading global academic centres, MIT and Stanford in the Silicon Valley in creating the environment that produced Google, Apple, Facebook and others. She will also discuss the role of Digital Media in the 21st century, new revenue sources for advertising companies, mobile technology applications and how to secure venture capital. Furthermore, she will have one to one meetings with business leaders and entrepreneurs who would like to invest in the IT sector and take their companies global,” Pinto said.

Before starting up MG-Team, Gigi was the SVP of Marketing and Alliances for July Systems, a global start-up providing mobile retailing and marketing solutions to customers including AT&T, Electronic Arts, RealNetworks, MTV, India Times, and ePlus (Germany).  Prior to July, she was CEO and Co-founder of AsiaQuest, a company providing market entry services for companies entering Asia. Her team developed relationships with Asian operators and other key players for its clients. She also started up the International Carrier Marketing group and lead VOIP Product Marketing for Ascend Communications (acquired by Alcatel-Lucent).  

As an internet pioneer in the 90’s, she launched the TRUSTe Internet privacy program in 1996 and also started up Pacific Internet in Singapore (IPO on NASDAQ in 1999), along with holding sales and business development positions at Pacific Bell (acquired by SBC/AT&T).

Gigi holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University where she was President of the Engineering Honour Society, and a Masters in Business Admini-stration from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.  While in Singapore, she taught at the National University of Singapore as an Adjunct Professor in the Centre for Entrepreneurship.  She is a frequent speaker at entrepreneur and innovation conferences around the world.