“A Company with Employees at its Very Core”: The Leader Steering a 150-Person Organization in Sri Lanka on the Heart of Uzabase’s Global Strategy

Yes, that's right. The Sri Lanka office was established by Mifnaz in 2016. As she began overseeing other overseas locations like Singapore and China, expanding her scope of responsibility, I joined the company in 2018 to take over the operations of the Sri Lanka office.

I'm a very positive and optimistic person, so I try to view everything positively. From that perspective, 2025 was a year of "opportunity" for Uzabase Sri Lanka.
However, our growth didn't start last year. It's the result of a steady journey where we've consistently added 10 or 20 members each year.

Yes. When I joined in 2018 with 30 members, we were primarily supporting the SPEEDA business. The biggest turning point came in 2020. At the beginning of that year, a project for a completely new product called "SPEEDA Edge" began.
With "SPEEDA Edge," while some members in sales and marketing were based in the US, the majority of development was handled by Sri Lanka. As one of the founding members involved in this process, there were truly many events and learnings. Above all, it was a very enjoyable time. This project triggered our organization's rapid expansion from 40 people to over 100 in three years.

Exactly right. I still remember it clearly. A member who was then responsible for "SPEEDA Edge" was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka for the project kickoff. That was March 8, 2020. On that very day, Sri Lanka closed its borders due to the pandemic.
Of course, it was a more difficult situation than usual. But as a company, I think we responded very quickly. Uzabase had a culture where all members worked on laptops even before the pandemic. This was unusual for Sri Lankan companies at the time.

Yes. So the transition to "please work from home starting tomorrow" went very smoothly. We hardly experienced the productivity drops or engagement issues that were heard about at other companies.
The support from Japan's corporate department was also very reassuring. Furniture purchase allowances were provided to everyone to set up their home office environments, and many members still remember this with gratitude.
As a result, we completely mastered remote work methods during the two years of the pandemic. Despite complete lockdowns and partial lockdowns, rather than stopping our growth, we actually gained momentum. Interestingly, our current way of working is almost identical to what it was during COVID. Only about 10 members are in the office at any given time, but work progresses smoothly.

What I personally emphasize to all members is that "employees are the most important thing in this company." I tell to each new employee on their first day that Uzabase is an "employee-centric company."
In typical workplace cultures in the US, Sri Lanka, India, and elsewhere, shareholders are often prioritized, and employees are often viewed as "people who do what they're told." But Uzabase is different. What we've inherited from our founders is a culture that values teamwork and, above all, cherishes the value and skills that each member brings.

That's why, as a leader, I continue to tell members, "As long as you feel happy working at Uzabase, I want you to stay here." Of course, in terms of compensation, we maintain levels above market average and are very competitive.
When this philosophy combines with such an environment, many people want to work here. We've created that kind of atmosphere. The most proud evidence of this is the recent "Great Place to Work®️" award we received, ranking first in Sri Lanka, in the small company category. I think this is the best proof that all our members feel happy.

I value connections outside of work. Especially now that remote work has become mainstream, I think it's important to consciously create such opportunities.
For example, we hold gatherings at the office once a month, like game tournaments or movie screenings. Seasonal events like Halloween, Sri Lankan New Year, and Christmas are also essential. We also organize company trips and the One Uzabase Party (annual company-wide party).
What's even more delightful is that these connections aren't just company-initiated. Employees take initiative on their own, and many club activities have emerged.

Dance club, book club, anime club, outdoor club for hiking and futsal, board game club, and many others. Members who are interested gather like-minded people bottom-up and enjoy activities together. Because our organization is still small, everyone knows each other, and these activities create even deeper connections. Getting to know each other not just as work colleagues but as individuals ultimately has a positive impact on work as well.

The way we work is definitely changing. But rather than falling behind this wave of change, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront.
This is because "SPEEDA Edge" is a platform for researching cutting-edge innovations. We knew this change was coming before the world started making a fuss about it. For example, "SPEEDA Edge" already had reports on LLMs (Large Language Models) in June 2022, three months before ChatGPT was released.
Therefore, we were prepared to ride the wave rather than be overwhelmed by it. You might find this hard to believe, but now more than half of our analyst team's work is already done using AI.

This is necessary for survival. Just in a meeting earlier, I reported that report update work, which used to take the most time, has been accelerated by 40% through AI utilization. In other words, 40% more capacity has been created. I just proposed to management, "What else can we do with this freed-up time?"

I’m very excited about the data feed business that Erik Abbott (Executive Officer, Global Business), who joined us in 2025, is driving by leveraging the resources he has built over the years. More broadly, what excites me most right now is the Uzabase Group’s overall global strategy. That’s why I described 2025 as a “year of opportunity.”

Last year, that strategy was clearly defined, and the leaders needed to bring it to life are now in place. Leaders such as Erik and Yusuke Inagaki, Representative Director & CEO of Uzabase, often say the same thing: “If we are going to talk about global expansion, it has to be Sri Lanka.”

Yes. I feel pressure, but I'm more excited than anything. For example, Uzabase's vision to become "Asia's No.1 economic information platform." Having built a position close to No.1 in Japan, we're now looking to expand that position across all of Asia in the next three years. English content is essential for doing business in Asia. And it's our Sri Lanka office's role to handle that.
The same goes for the data feed business. Two months ago, the first contract was signed with a global financial data vendor, and my team is communicating directly with them. Fortunately, I have experience working with global investment banks in my previous job, so I deeply understand what they're looking for. The customer has also given us feedback saying, "It's completely different from other data suppliers. Working with Uzabase has been very satisfying," and we've gotten off to the best possible start.

The answer is simple: "Being open to change." That's all there is to it.
While we can't accurately predict what changes will occur, we can be certain that change will definitely happen. Rather than fearing that change, the most important thing is having a mindset that views it as a positive challenge and moves forward with "Let's do this!"
Fortunately, Sri Lankan members are very positive about new things. When a new challenge appears, most people raise their hands saying, "I want to do it!"

Yes. However, as a leader's responsibility, it's also essential to carefully explain why change is necessary and what benefits that change will bring to each individual member.
For example, regarding AI implementation, I tell them, "Using this will make your work faster and more interesting. You'll be able to use the time you spent on simple tasks for more creative work." When explained this way, everyone accepts change positively.

Because we have diverse members, I myself am constantly challenged while being conscious of drawing out each person's strengths to the maximum. I feel we've achieved that to some extent at the Sri Lanka office.
Of course, I don't directly manage all 150 people. I have four teams under me, each with their own leaders. My most important mission is to support those four leaders so they can be happy and clearly envision their career paths. If they can achieve happy working styles, that energy will definitely spread to their team members. That way, the entire organization becomes happy.
And I also actively connect with non-leader members outside of work. I try to show up at all club activities as much as possible - book club, dance club, everything. Getting to know them is part of my job too!