Eranga Weeraratne, Chief Executive at Omobio, tells us about building a global digital solutions company with expertise in artificial intelligence, machine learning and IoT solutions for leading telecom operators and mobile service providers in the region. The company serves top-tier mobile operators across 20+ countries with a combined subscriber base of over 300 million people. Weeraratne says the company is planning to venture beyond the Asian continent.

Omobio was founded in 2011 to fill a gap in the telecom solutions market. Looking back, what was challenging about that?

As engineers interested in entrepreneurship, we decided to start a business together, bootstrapping the startup to build a cutting edge next-gen digital telecom services company. Initially, the challenges were funding and building the clientele. We decided to pay ourselves minimal salaries and not seek external funding until we worked out a proper structure. Digital telecommunication services space was then a nascent industry. To build the client base and get noticed by the telco operators of Sri Lanka, we decided to price our services and solutions low enough to avoid making losses.

A decade later, Omobio is a multi-award winning leading telecommunication solutions provider headquartered in Sri Lanka with offices in Bangladesh and Nepal. Our products delight over 300 million people across 20 countries through our clients – over 25 leading mobile network operators and service providers.

How has the journey been thus far, and how has Omobio evolved as a company? Can you take us through your suite of services and products?

We have classified our products and solutions into three segments: Digital Service Solutions, Core Network Value Added Service (VAS) Solutions, and IoT & Smart Service Solutions.

Digital Service Solutions comprise of mobile self-care app/web suite, mobile sales force automation, loyalty management system, mobile money platform, mobile lottery system and a multi-channel digital advertising platform called adReach, which allows advertisers to generate targeted advertisements to the right audience without spamming the customer.

Our Core Network VAS Solutions include an SMSC platform to manage SMS traffic, a USSD gateway for faster session-based messaging and an intelligent USSD agent which uses AI and ML to drive optimal search experiences in local languages. We have an End Call Notification platform using AI for targeted campaigns. We also have an SMS firewall solution to filter unsolicited messages and a range of solutions for fraud call filtering, called number correction prepaid local number roaming, welcome roamer SMS and missed call alerts.

IoT & Smart Solutions covers digital offices and asset tracking. We have systems for workforce management, workflow digitalisation, fleet management, and a digital highway and tolling system. We developed a BLOQNET system that combines wireless sensors and remote monitoring software to generate actionable insights leading to better quality, productivity, and regulatory compliance with high accuracy.

How have you established a culture of innovation to help telcos stay ahead of the curve?

Building expertise, constant innovation and consistency are critical to succeed in this industry. Our products and solutions undergo a rigorous R&D process. We encourage all our staff to engage in continuous professional development, constantly upgrade their skills and subscribe to various courses so that Omobio can quickly adopt new developments in the latest technologies and platforms and thereby improve our product offerings. While innovation is at the heart of what we do, creating delightful consumer experiences is our primary objective.

Any plans for the future you like to share?

We have a strong presence in Asia, but there is room for growth. We are also looking at venturing into the UK and European markets. We plan to open an office in Europe this year and launch our expansion into Europe, Africa and the Americas through that front. We also intend to expand our solutions portfolio with a subscription-based SaaS model, moving away from our on-premises products to offer clients more affordable, efficient, and reliable solutions.

Other than IT, we are enthusiastic about agriculture and ventured into several export crops. We grow pepper and cinnamon on a 100acre plot in Haldamulla, Cardamom and Greenhouse cultivation in Matale and recently acquired a tea factory and hope to build a tea brand for export markets.