Janeeth Rodrigo

Janeeth Rodrigo (born 9 December 1987 as ජනීත් රොඩ්‍රිගෝ [Sinhala]), is a Sri Lankan entrepreneur and digital media professional.^[1] He is best known for leading several of Sri Lanka’s pioneering digital content initiatives.^[2][3] He served as the General Manager of TV Derana’s digital media arm and founding Sri Lanka’s first YouTube multi-channel network called "IdeaHell".^[4][5]

Janeeth Rodrigo ජනීත් රොඩ්‍රිගෝ
Born	(1987-12-09) December 9, 1987 (age 37) Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Education	S. Thomas’ College
Alma mater	Open University of Sri Lanka Australian Institute of Business
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Years active	2013–present
Awards	Global Understanding for Sustainable Development Award Social Media Channel of the Year

In January 2025, Rodrigo became the Executive Director of Digital Turtles, a bi-national digital advocacy and strategy organization focused on internet safety and civic engagement. He is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

Personal life

Janeeth Rodrigo was born on 9 December 1987 in Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He completed his primary and secondary education at S. Thomas’ College, Mount Lavinia from 1992 to 2006. During school life, he performed continuously in school drama productions such as Antigone.^[6]

Career

Rodrigo completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the Open University of Sri Lanka. He later completed Master of Business Administration from the Australian Institute of Business in 2014.^[7]

In the late 2000s, he joined TV Derana where he later became the General Manager of TV Derana’s digital arm called Derana Macroentertainment Pvt. Ltd.^[8] In 2017, he pioneered to launch "IdeaHell" at TV Derana,^[1] a collaborative creator space and incubator for online content creators.^[4] Under his leadership, IdeaHell became Sri Lanka’s first-ever YouTube-approved multi-channel network (MCN).^[9] In 2010 at the SLIM Brand Excellence, Ada Derana won the Silver Award for the ‘Most Innovative Brand of the Year’.^[10] In 2016, he won the Global Understanding for Sustainable Development Award for TV Derana’s news platform Ada Derana.^[11]

By 2018, YouTube had officially appointed IdeaHell as the country’s only MCN, enabling Sri Lankan YouTubers to monetize their content for the first time. IdeaHell provided resources and training in areas such as audience development, content strategy, and digital rights management, and managed over 60 YouTube channels across genres including food, music, lifestyle, comedy, travel, and technology.^[9][4]

Apart from IdeaHell, he initiated another platform at TV Derana titled "Pulse.lk", a lifestyle and entertainment digital platform launched in 2015. Currently, "Pulse.lk" has become one of the leading online content channels in Sri Lanka. He also involved in developing "Mogo Studios", a digital animation and gaming initiative also under Derana.^[7] He resigned from Derana at the end of 2024. In 2024, Rodrigo won the Award for the Social Media Channel of the Year for "Pulse.lk" at the 5th New Generation Asia Awards.^[12]

In January 2025, Rodrigo became the Executive Director at Digital Turtles, a digital strategy and advocacy organization operating out of Sri Lanka and Singapore.^[7] Digital Turtles contributed to the creation of "Cyber Hero", a 3D mobile game designed to teach teenagers about internet security and safe online practices. "Cyber Hero" was launched in 2024 with the support by the U.S. Embassy in Colombo, as part of efforts to promote digital literacy. Later he launched the "Creator Incubator" initiative.^[13]

Apart from entrepreneurship, Rodrigo is a frequent speaker, mentor^[14] and columnist on topics related to digital media such as a 'DisrupTech' column in The Morning newspaper, as well as a resource person in various workshops.^{[4][15][16][17]}