Venture Engine is once again taking up the mantle of kickstarting Sri Lanka’s startup sector. As Sri Lanka’s foremost startup funding platform, and a pioneer in the local startup sector since 2012, Venture Engine has spotlighted the resurgence of the startup sector with its successfully concluded Finale, which was held on the 23rd of February 2022.
This event not only showcased the resilience of Sri Lanka’s startups, but also that the sector is rebounding.
“Despite the setbacks experienced by the startup sector due to COVID-19, a lack of foreign exchange, etc, we are pleased to have successfully completed Venture Engine’s tenth year.
This is a testament to the strength of this program, which has helped fast track some of Sri Lanka’s top fundable startups from idea to late stage in a very short time span. In many ways, our journey this year has mirrored that of our startups.
With changes to our program due to repeat stops and starts, and even an unprecedented extension of our timelines. This year we introduced a new award called the Trailblazer award.
This award was keen to shine a spotlight on the success of women entrepreneurs and inspire more women to take part. We will also offer individual mentoring with our group of investment advisors, domain experts and successful founders.
The idea of the grant and focused mentorship is to help founders with their business pain points,” commented Mr. Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Founder of BOV Capital, Lankan Angel Network and Venture Engine.
The winner of Venture Engine in 2022 was Sri Lanka’s first ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ platform, Mintpay (FinTech). One-to-one online tutoring platform Tutopiya (EdTech) was adjudged the First Runner-up, while Non Fungible Token (NFT) marketplace Hyperglade (Web 3.0) was recognized as the Second Runner-up. Tutopiya Founder Nuha Ghouse received the Trailblazer Award, which was given out in 2022 for the first time.
Continuing to promote initiatives that help innovative startups to accelerate their growth and scale, Venture Engine has, this year alone, awarded more than Rs. 7 million in prize money and grants to startups, in celebration of its tenth anniversary.
Along with BOV Capital, the Indian Angel Network is also a founder of Venture Engine, with the Lankan Angel Network (LAN) being its Investment Partner and the Ford Foundation its Platinum Sponsor.
