The Colombo Plan Secretariat

What The Colombo Plan Secretariat does

The Colombo Plan Secretariat is an inter-governmental organisation founded on 1 July 1951 by seven Commonwealth countries (Australia, Canada, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom), now comprising 26 member countries across Asia-Pacific and headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It operates on the partnership concept of self-help and mutual help, focused on south-south cooperation, and implements capacity-building programmes in over 80 countries worldwide. The Secretariat is governed by a Consultative Committee, Council, and Standing Committee, with day-to-day leadership provided by a Secretary-General.

The organisation delivers five thematic programmes: the Drug Advisory Programme (DAP) — an evidence-based substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery initiative including the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) and Universal Prevention Curriculum (UPC) self-led courses on the Health-e-Knowledge online platform and public health alerts co-authored with CFSRE; the Maritime Advisory Programme (MAP) — launched in 2024-2025 around the Port of Colombo pilot covering port modernisation, cybersecurity, and IMO compliance; the Gender Affairs Programme (GAP) addressing gender equality and women's empowerment; the Capacity Building Programme (CBP) offering scholarships, master's degrees, and short-term training; and the Programme for Environment and Climate Change (ECC) covering waste management, renewable energy, eco-tourism, and biodiversity. Workforce credentials are validated through the Global Center for Credentialing and Certification (GCCC), the credentialing arm of DAP.

The Secretariat is funded primarily by member country contributions supplemented by donor support, most notably from the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) and the U.S. Embassy in Colombo for DAP and MAP projects, plus in-kind technical support from partners such as Waters Corporation and Deloitte. Services are delivered to member country governments and their agencies through training-of-trainers workshops, scholarships, online learning, public health alerts, and advisory missions; pricing is not publicly disclosed as the entity operates as an inter-governmental body rather than a commercial vendor.

Name

The Colombo Plan Secretariat

Legal name

The Colombo Plan Secretariat

Website

https://colombo-plan.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Colombo Plan Secretariat is an inter-governmental organisation of 26 Asia-Pacific member countries, founded in 1951 and headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It delivers capacity-building programmes in drug demand reduction, maritime advisory, gender affairs, capacity building, and environmental sustainability across 80+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development Cooperation Services

NAICS

International Affairs (928120), International Affairs (92812)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC), Health Systems Strengthening & Global Health Technical Assistance (BPADAEAH), Infrastructure Planning, Capital Programs & Project Delivery Offices (PMOs) (BPAIALAJ), Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

Keywords

• Capacity building programmes
• Drug demand reduction
• Intergovernmental cooperation
• Maritime advisory services
• Human capital development

Headquarters

HQ city

Colombo

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Member Country Contributions: The Colombo Plan is funded primarily through contributions from its 26 member countries, with initiatives also supported by fully or partially-funded cost-sharing arrangements from member countries and international organisations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Colombo Plan Secretariat is an inter-governmental organisation that delivers capacity-building and technical cooperation programmes across Asia-Pacific. It operates five thematic programmes — Drug Advisory Programme (DAP), Maritime Advisory Programme (MAP), Gender Affairs Programme (GAP), Capacity Building Programme (CBP), and Programme for Environment and Climate Change (ECC) — providing training, scholarships, online learning, expert advisory missions, and public health alerts to its 26 member countries.

Product overview

The Colombo Plan Secretariat operates a multi-programme portfolio focused on capacity building and technical cooperation across the Asia-Pacific region. The core offerings consist of five advisory programmes: the Drug Advisory Programme (DAP), Maritime Advisory Programme (MAP), Gender Affairs Programme (GAP), Capacity Building Programme (CBP), and Programme for Environment and Climate Change (ECC). These programmes deliver training, technical assistance, and knowledge resources including the Universal Treatment Curriculum (UTC) self-led online courses and Public Health Alerts on synthetic drugs. The organisation functions as an inter-governmental body implementing capacity-building initiatives in over 80 countries, not as a traditional technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Drug Advisory Programme (DAP): A pioneering inter-governmental programme addressing substance use issues through evidence-based practices in prevention, treatment, and recovery.
• Capacity Building Programme (CBP)
• Gender Affairs Programme (GAP)
• Maritime Advisory Programme (MAP)
• Programme for Environment and Climate Change (ECC)

Named customers10 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• DeloittecoreTechnology or Integration · 17 September 2025Deloitte was selected to conduct the Cybersecurity Advisory Mission for the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) under the Maritime Advisory Programme (MAP-SL-001), funded by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo. The signing took place on 17 September 2025 at Colombo Plan Headquarters.
• Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFSRE collaborates with the Colombo Plan's Drug Advisory Programme (DAP) to release public health alerts on emerging lethal synthetic drugs, complex drug mixtures, and dangerous adulterants in the global drug supply. CFSRE provides forensic science research and testing to support the alerts programme, which covers countries worldwide.
• ASEAN Biodiversity CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Colombo Plan collaborates with the ASEAN Biodiversity Center on a pivotal project assisting communities in mitigating biodiversity decline effects, focusing on empowering women within these communities to manage climate change impacts and foster sustainable livelihoods.
• Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) - U.S. Department of CommerceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCLDP collaborates with the Colombo Plan's Maritime Advisory Programme on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) workshops, facilitating port modernisation and trade facilitation. Rebel Group (Netherlands) Senior Port Consultant Wim Welvaarts facilitated sessions, coordinated by CLDP Senior Counsel Lindsey Scannell.
• Waters CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaters Corporation provided technical support and RADIAN ASAP equipment as part of the Colombo Plan DAP project 'Upgrading Forensic Labs Capabilities in South Asia.' Waters experts (Dr. Ciara Pitman, Dr. Gorrela Taposh Kumar, Mr. Mark Ritchie) conducted practical training sessions alongside CFSRE.
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJICA Sri Lanka Office Chief Representative Tetsuya Yamada engages with the Colombo Plan on development initiatives. Japan is a long-standing member country (joined 1954) and active contributor to regional development cooperation.
• International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorISSUP serves as a training platform for Colombo Plan DAP curricula. The Colombo Plan's Universal Curriculum courses on Treatment and Prevention are offered through ISSUP's training platform (issup.net/training), enabling global distribution of DAP-developed curricula.
• Global Center for Credentialing and Certification (GCCC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGCCC is the credentialing arm of the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme. It provides professional certification for addiction professionals, including the International Certified Addiction Professional credential. Dr. Benjamin Reyes previously served as Commissioner for the Philippines for GCCC.
• Global South Coalition for Dignified MenstruationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Colombo Plan's Gender Affairs Programme (CPGAP) collaborates with the Global South Coalition for Dignified Menstruation and MenEngage Alliance on advocacy to dismantle cultural barriers to menstrual equality, including hybrid conferences and evidence-based education programmes.
• University Grants Commission of Sri LankaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with the Colombo Plan to host the 75th Anniversary Inter-University Debate Competition on 24 June 2026 at the UGC Auditorium, bringing together university students for dialogue on regional cooperation and human capital development.
• Sri Lanka Ports AuthorityflagshipImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe SLPA is the primary implementing partner for the Maritime Advisory Programme's Port of Colombo Capacity Building Project. They signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Virginia Port Authority (USA) and participated in exchange tours and training workshops facilitated by the Colombo Plan.
• Virginia Port Authority (USA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Virginia Port Authority signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Sri Lanka Ports Authority (via Colombo Plan facilitation) for information and knowledge exchange. Sri Lanka Port Authority delegates visited the Port of Virginia Norfolk as part of an exchange programme under the Maritime Advisory Programme.
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DEA co-hosted the Fentanyl-Free America Summit alongside CADCA, where Colombo Plan's CEO Thom Browne delivered a major plenary session on emerging lethal synthetic drugs. DEA Educational Foundation has partnered with the Colombo Plan since 2017 to uncover drug trends.
• Government of Mongolia - Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs (MoJHA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Government of Mongolia hosted the 48th Consultative Committee Meeting (CCM) of the Colombo Plan from 29th to 31st May 2024 in Ulaanbaatar, demonstrating Mongolia's active role in the organisation's governance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ASEAN Secretariat: The ASEAN Secretariat coordinates inter-governmental cooperation across Southeast Asia, a region overlapping heavily with the Colombo Plan's membership. Both function as inter-governmental convening bodies implementing programmes on economic and social development priorities.
• SAARC Secretariat: The SAARC Secretariat coordinates regional cooperation among eight South Asian countries, several of which overlap with Colombo Plan membership. It functions as a comparable regional inter-governmental body in a sub-region of the Colombo Plan's footprint.
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA): JICA is a bilateral development agency implementing technical cooperation, capacity building, training, and scholarships across Asia and globally. As a long-standing Colombo Plan member and active contributor, JICA shares the Colombo Plan's core mandate of human resource development and South-South cooperation.
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ): GIZ is Germany's federal development agency delivering technical cooperation, capacity building, and training worldwide on behalf of the German government. It is directly comparable as a bilateral development agency with a technical cooperation mandate.
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC): UNODC leads global efforts against drugs, crime, and corruption, including drug demand reduction programmes that directly overlap with the Colombo Plan's Drug Advisory Programme (DAP). Both organisations issue public health alerts on synthetic drugs and deliver treatment/prevention curricula.
• Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA): KOICA implements Korea's bilateral development cooperation including capacity building, training programmes, and technical assistance in partner countries. It shares the Colombo Plan's focus on human resource development and training-of-trainers modalities across Asia-Pacific.

Broad incumbents

• World Health Organization (WHO): WHO leads global public health with overlapping interest in substance use disorders addressed by the Colombo Plan's DAP. Both organisations engage on synthetic drug public health alerts and addiction professional training frameworks.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB): ADB is a regional multilateral development bank serving Asia-Pacific with infrastructure, governance, and capacity-building programmes. It shares the Colombo Plan's Asia-Pacific geographic focus and capacity-building orientation, though with substantially larger financial firepower.
• U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID): USAID is the U.S. government's primary development and humanitarian aid agency operating globally with a much larger budget and broader scope. Several Colombo Plan programmes are co-funded by the U.S. government through INL, making USAID an overlapping incumbent partner/donor.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP): UNDP is the UN's global development network working across 170+ countries on poverty reduction, governance, and capacity building. It is comparable to the Colombo Plan as a multilateral development cooperation body, though operating at far greater scale and with a broader mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ColomboPlan
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@thecolomboplan
• Facebookfacebook.com/ColomboPlan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/colombo-plan
• Instagraminstagram.com/thecolomboplanorg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Colombo Plan Secretariat