The Lankan Angel Network (LAN), in partnership with Hatch, orchestrated a dynamic and impactful initiative called Innovate Lanka during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in Sri Lanka, organised by the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA). This collaborative effort also involved the Council for Startups and Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM).

The primary aim of Innovate Lanka is to spotlight and endorse innovative startups in Sri Lanka, providing them with a distinctive platform to present their ideas to potential investors. And the goal of this endeavour is to nurture innovation, entrepreneurship and investment within Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem.

Moreover, the ultimate aspiration is to present the winner of Innovate Lanka at the Entrepreneurship World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2024.

The event successfully identified promising startups with inventive and scalable business concepts, offering them a platform to pitch their ideas to potential investors from LAN. Emphasis was placed on fostering collaboration and networking between startups and investors, to catalyse growth and success.

SpectrifyAI, founded in 2021, stood out among 10 diverse startups, showcasing its spectral technology that rapidly assesses the quality of tea and other agricultural products.

In a mere five seconds, SpectrifyAI achieves what typically takes six hours. Head of Sales & Partnerships Jihan Perera highlighted the startup’s success in securing 12 clients over the past five months. Many factories recognise the potential of SpectrifyAI’s technology to authenticate the authenticity of Sri Lankan tea.

He explains: “What Spectrify does is basically shine a light on matter. So what we do is identify within five seconds what usually takes six hours to do. We’re looking at identifying caffeine levels in coffee, sugar levels, the pesticide and herbicide levels in tea and all other agriculture products.”

Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Founder Chairperson of LAN, highlighted the success of its programme over the past decade, which has funded nearly 35,000 entrepreneurs.

He initiated LAN in 2011 to establish a business angel investment network. The Innovate Lanka initiative began in 2022 during his tenure as the Chairman of the Council for Startups within the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

As Sri Lanka’s representative in the Global Business Angels Network (GBAN), a global network of angel investors, Balasubramaniam shared its decision to host the ‘world cup’ of startups in Sri Lanka, with the winners earning a spot at the Riyadh event.

He expressed admiration for the participants’ maturity, noting the significant development in the entrepreneurial ecosystem over the past decade.

Balasubramaniam explained the selection criteria, emphasising factors such as rankings, awards and investment, with a keen focus on evaluating the team and founder’s agility from an investor’s perspective.

Shalin Balasuriya, the Chairman of the Council for Startups, expressed admiration for the impressive quality and diversity of startups, noting their potential on an international scale.

While acknowledging the anticipation of an ultimate winner, he affirmed LAN’s commitment to supporting Sri Lankan startups, highlighting the network’s role through the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and various bilateral agreements to facilitate their global expansion.

Veteran banker and Chairman of Lanka Impact Investing Network (LIIN) Chandula Abeywickrema said he looked at emerging startups who can bring solutions through social innovations.

“If you want to go international, and get scalability and commercial value, you need to go regional and global,” he advised.

Three-year-old startup Magicbit, which produces innovative learning tools for children, was the runner-up.

“Our five main components are computer programmes, graphics, AI, IoT and electronics,” explained Migara Amithodhana, the Co-Founder and CEO of Magicbit, whose kits have reached 40 countries, and has plans to expand to the Asia-Pacific and Northern American regions.

BooleanLabs, which had a turnover of US$ 1 million in 2022, and Mediwave, a digital health software producer, were joint third.

The CEO of BooleanLabs Nuwan Dehigaspitiya said: “It’s about AI-based products. When we started this, it was only myself and my wife (Ishani Thebuwana). Now, we have offices in Florida (US), the Dubai International Financial Centre (UAE) and Sri Lanka. Our products have customers in 40 plus countries in seven different regions.”

Mediwave is a software product company that’s developing products for emergency services.

“We pitched solutions for emergency services because today, there are a lot of challenges in terms of medical miscommunication, documentation and monitoring patients during transit,” explained Reza Aniff, the COO of Mediwave, whose head office is in Singapore while the tech hub is in Sri Lanka.

Innovate Lanka has emerged as a valuable and enriching addition to GEW in Sri Lanka. The organisers are confident that this event not only provides startups with a platform to showcase their innovation but also cultivates opportunities for investment and collaboration, thereby contributing to the advancement of Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem.

– Compiled by Allaam Ousman

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