Idea 361 of 500. Cluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
A directory of Sri Lankans abroad: who does what, where, and what they will help with, verified
The mechanism, from the book
1.5 million people abroad who know how rich countries work, and who send home money and little else.
Every idea in cluster 18 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Build a spreadsheet of 30 Sri Lankan professionals in one city abroad, starting with the committee of one Sri Lankan association, and ask each three questions: what they do, what help they would give a business at home, and whether they may be listed. Show the verified list to five business owners at home and ask whether they would pay a small fee for an introduction. One paid introduction proves the model.
- Who pays first
- A small exporter at home who needs one introduction to a buyer or an adviser abroad and will pay for a verified contact over a cold email.
- What leaves today
- The knowledge Sri Lankans abroad have of how rich countries work stays abroad, unused; a verified directory turns it into introductions a business at home can act on.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. EightWhat It Costs to Go First
What bonds sold to Sri Lankans abroad have and have not done - Ch. SixteenThe Bridge
The institutions that could carry value back
More from cluster 18
- 362Return-relocation services: the school, the house, the car, the tax, in one package
- 363Sri Lanka House in London, Melbourne and Toronto: a shop, a café and a desk, the Colombo model abroad
- 364Money-transfer products that buy a specific thing at home, a course, a machine, a roof, rather than cash
- 365Investment clubs of Sri Lankans abroad that own one business each at home, with a manager on the ground
- 366Import agencies in each city with a Sri Lankan community, stocking Sri Lankan brands and nothing else
- 367A returning-professional registry that hospitals, universities and firms at home can search
Idea 361 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.