The Women Technopreneurs Forum (WTech) of SLASSCOM has once again taken center stage by successfully concluding two flagship initiatives — Fast Forward 4.0 and Hack Like a Girl 2.0 — aimed at nurturing and empowering the next generation of female tech innovators in Sri Lanka.
At the grand finale of Fast Forward 4.0, five standout female-led startups were recognized for their disruptive ideas and market readiness. The winning ventures — Meribel, Ivena (Littoral), Ceylon Speechi, Electriquote, and Innosync — impressed the judges with their innovative business models and potential for growth.
These startups will now gain access to critical resources, including targeted funding and expert support in legal, marketing, strategy, and product development. Four ventures will receive one-on-one mentorship from a seasoned venture capitalist, enhancing their investor readiness. Additionally, two founders will benefit from free workspace at GrandSpace, the program’s Serviced Office Partner.
Held annually, Fast Forward is Sri Lanka’s only accelerator program exclusively designed for women in tech. Spanning two months, this year’s program featured intensive sessions on sales, finance, product development, and pitch training.
The initiative culminated in an inspiring Demo Day in Colombo, highlighted by a keynote from Makers Global CEO Nevindaree Premarathne.
A distinguished judging panel — Rajive Silva (Azend Technologies), Pulani Ranasinghe (Loons Lab), Samila Maddumage (GrandSpace), and Darshani Kaluarachchi (Seylan Bank) — provided expert insights, recognizing the entrepreneurial drive of Sri Lanka’s women technopreneurs.
Running concurrently from July to November 2024, Hack like a Girl 2.0 showcased the creativity of young female tech talent across the country.
With the theme “Innovating for a Better Tomorrow,” the hackathon addressed critical issues in health, education, tourism, agriculture, and sustainability. After regional mini-hackathons in the North and East, Central, and Southern and Western provinces, 12 university teams were shortlisted for the Grand Finale.
Winning entries from Sabaragamuwa University, Vavuniya University, and IIT-KDU offered impactful tech solutions such as a mobile app for child health tracking, a smart cane for the visually impaired, and a digital tour guide app with hotel booking features. The judging panel included Shehan Selvanayagam (Loops), Dr. Buddhima Subasinghe (NIBM), Dr. Kalpana Ambepitiya (KDU), and Abith Latiff (ICTA Sri Lanka).
The programs were supported by the Royal Norwegian Embassy, with MAS Holdings sponsoring the hackathon and GrandSpace supporting the accelerator. Since its inception in 2020, the WTech Forum has grown significantly, supporting over 110 women-led startups and contributing to Sri Lanka’s goal of creating 1,000 startups by 2030.
