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Lankan Angel Network Chairman Dumith Fernando, ABAF Chairman Jordan Green and BOV Capital Group Member Prajeeth Balasubramaniam at the event
- Pic by Upul Abayasekara
By Charumini de Silva
Venture Engine, a Sri Lankan angel investor group, said it has raised over Rs. 2 billion in funding for 25 local startups as part of a breakthrough effort to reshape the future of Sri Lanka. Its latest call for proposals ends on 9 August.
The firm announced that Asian Business Angel Forum (ABAF) and Venture Engine 2017 will be held on 11 and 12 October in Colombo. It is the first time Sri Lanka is hosting ABAF, which they believe is a great opportunity to showcase the talent of the country.
Lankan Angel Network Chairman Dumith Fernando addressing a media briefing on Wednesday said building on trailblazing path that first began in 2012, Venture Engine had brought together investors with collective investments of over Rs.2 billion across 25 local startups.
He said being selected as the host country for the ABAF 2017 was testament of how far the startup ecosystem in Sri Lanka had progressed over the last few years.
“This is truly unprecedented opportunity for our local entrepreneurs to go beyond their familiar boundaries and that their business to the next level.”
Fernando urged anyone who felt that they had a strong business plan along with a novel business model to step forward and take up the challenge.
ABAF Chairman Jordan Green said angel investors were the quintessential drivers of a high growth economy of 21st century. “It is about bringing the best, brightest business people and new ventures to grow business to reach out to its community and beyond,” he added.
He said ABAF 2017 would recognise and support the Sri Lankan angel network to grow to higher levels with the broadening of the economy.
ABAF is Asia’s only investor conference that brings together angel investors, HNI’s venture capitalists and other key stakeholders to one platform that focuses on global startup trends and best practices amongst a host of topics attracting over 250 investors from across Asia, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Australasian regions.
Highlighting that Asia was growing at a rapid pace at all levels more than any other community in the world, he pointed out that this was why they were supporting grassroot level business ideas. “It drives direction, opportunities, employment and it shares wealth among a much broader community than any other business.”
He acknowledged that while getting a decent return on investment (RoI) for funding a project, the key objective was to provide a much higher return to founders of the company at the exit point.
“Our ROI varies. Sometimes it is 100%, 34% or 0%; that is the kind of risk we undertake. Unlike other investment firms, we also look at the exit plan while growing the companies. We look at best returns to the founders of the company,” Green explained.
BOV Capital Group Member Prajeeth Balasubramaniam said their vision for Venture Engine was to serve not only as a place to bring together Sri Lanka’s most ambitious and talented entrepreneurs, but also as an incubator capable of nurturing skills and recognising business models to the level that these enterprises could then work to aggressively compete on global platform.
“Each year we have been able to open new doors via this program and this year in connection with ABAF we believe the firm has now reached the next iteration in this progression towards a globalised competition,” he added.
Balasubramaniam pointed out that Venture Engine had displayed the talent and drive of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs and the success of the program was a key contributor to Sri Lanka wining the bid to host ABAF this year, ahead of other countries in the region.
Following its immensely successful inaugural program in 2012 Venture Engine has continued to grow seeing an exponential increase in the number of submissions to the program each year. The submissions for 2017 will be open from 28 June to 9 August, following which the best business ideas will be selected for a program of rapid improvement over the course of five workshops with filtering and mentoring between sessions (www.ventureengine.lk).
Subsequent to the finale of Venture Engine 2017 on 11 October, the ABAF program will commence on 12 October, which will include an opportunity for the Venture Engine finalists to present their ideas to ABAF participants. In addition, an exhibition will be held in parallel featuring 10 stalls, including five for Sri Lankan startups with the balance featuring startups from across the Asian region.
The main conference tilted ‘Cross Border Investing in Startups’ will feature a highly-distinguished line up of international speakers, regional analyses, technical training sessions and panel discussions.
Former Venture Engine sponsors and prominent venture capital firm Aavishkaar will serve as Platinum Sponsors for the event together with Orion City as the Silver Sponsor, while Dialog is the Official Telecommunication Sponsor.
The result of a bold partnership between founders BOV Capital, the Indian Angel Network and the Lankan Angel Network, Venture Engine has led the way in developing the startup eco-system in Sri Lanka.
