Seedstars coming back to Colombo

Monday, 2 October 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes is coming back to Sri Lanka. The pitching event will be held on 19 October at 5 p.m. in the Hive at Foster Lane.

In line with its mission to place the spotlight on entrepreneurs from emerging markets, Seedstars World is travelling to more than 75 countries this year to identify the best seed-stage entrepreneurs and provide them with an opportunity to win up to $ 1 million and network with investors and mentors from around the world. Its previous participants have raised over $ 61 million collectively, providing employment to more than 800 employees worldwide.

The companies selected to pitch at the Seedstars Colombo event need to be less than two years old, have raised less than $ 500,000 in funding and have built a minimum viable product, ideally with existing traction. The Seedstars World team is searching for one additional criterion – the startup’s regional and global scalability.

“Seedstars World is a platform connecting investors to the next generation of entrepreneurs, pulling the spotlight from Silicon Valley and Western Europe, and we have continuously seen innovative startups who do just that coming out of Sri Lanka. We are excited to be coming back to see what the ecosystem has to offer this year,” explains Rosie Keller, Regional Associate for Asia at Seedstars World.

Eight startups will be selected to pitch, with the winning startup receiving an all-expenses paid trip to the Seedstars Asia Regional Summit in Bangkok, and the Seedstars Global Summit in Switzerland, where startups from more than 70 countries will meet with international mentors and investors, and pitch for up to $ 1 million in equity investment, along with a bevy of additional prizes.

Sri Lanka was previously represented by Layup, with its innovative solution to increasing employee engagement in corporate training programs through new learning approaches.

In order to provide tech entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka with this opportunity and to deliver the best possible event, Seedstars World is working closely with its Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Mangala Karunaratne, who says of the local ecosystem: “The Sri Lankan ecosystem is relatively small and new, however we have some amazingly passionate founders and our engineering is second to none. What some of them lack is access to market and support for customer development, so events like Seedstars are absolutely what we need to fill that gap.”

Orion City and Hatch are the main partners of Seedstars Colombo. Further crucial support is provided by MAS Holdings, Hive, and Exetel as key partners. SLASSCOM and Startup Sri Lanka further enable the event as ecosystem partners. The ICTA of Sri Lanka is supporting this event as the National Partner.

Startup founders who want to pitch at the 19 October event should apply before 11 October on the Seedstars Colombo website https://www.seedstarsworld.com/event/seedstars-colombo-2017. The eight startups selected will give a five minute pitch in English, in front of a jury made up of local startup heavyweights. Members of the public are welcome to come join the fun and should register on the above Seedstars Colombo website as well.