Riyad Ismail the winner of the competition

The developer of an innovative cooking stove using coconut charcoal as the primary fuel won Sri Lanka’s first Business Plan competition at the finals of the event in Colombo this week.

The winning entry, EZ Turbo Charcoal Stove by entrepreneur Riyad Ismail, was described as an "innovatively designed cooking stove that uses coconut charcoal as a primary fuel providing a cost effective and user friendly alternative to a LPG cooking stove". The venture which won for the thoroughness of its business plan was adjudged the best entry from over 80 proposals in stage one and 10 finalists at stage two.

The Business Plan competition, organized by Q-Tex Solutions, was created to encourage the development of entrepreneurial thinking among Sri Lankans. It was presented in association with DFCC Bank, DFCC Vardhana Bank, and media sponsors - The Sunday Times and the Daily Mirror.

Mr Ismail carried away the plum prize of Rs 500,000 while the team of Himantha Cooray, Nimalika Perera, Sudeepama Walliwala, Chamila Wickremesinghe and Mihiri Gunatilake settled for the runner-up prize of Rs 200,000 for their plan -- The Nuchemy Needle Destroyer.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Guest, Attorney General C. R. De Silva, P.C., stressed the need for more thought out approach to entrepreneurial ventures today. He noted that although innovation and a good idea was always a priority, there was also a necessity for a complete and fully thought through business plan further indicating that this was also a focal point of countless books and articles in the popular press.

Mr Ismail, commenting on his project, which is already considered a success even though it is yet to be launched, said that he was grateful for the recognition of the hard work that was put into the project. He further hoped that this award would lead to a greater ability to obtain financing to take this venture to greater heights and ultimately to the mass market where it would benefit many people, especially the poor.

Runner-up, the Nuchemy Needle Destroyer developed by a team of recent graduates of the University of Moratuwa, was also a notable submission described as a "portable and easy-to-use device which safely and completely destroys used injection needles, thereby eliminating the chances of infection."

According to Nuchemy Chief Executive Officer, Himantha Cooray, the success of the entry could not have come at a better time. Indicating that Nuchemy needs Rs. 500,000 in capital to launch this venture, of which they have already raised Rs. 300,000, Mr Cooray hopes that the recognition and publicity received from this award would allow Nuchemy to get more investors interested in this potentially far reaching project which has potential for both the local market and for export. Although only the first such Business Plan Competition to date, the entries were judged by a number of professionals from the fields of management, marketing, ICT, banking and research, including Lakshman Silva - Chief Operating Officer, DFCC Vardhana Bank; Niranjan de Silva - Chief Executive Officer, Metropolitan Computers; Nimal Wirasekara - Executive Director, Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing; Naveen Gunawardena - Senior Vice President, Amba Research Lanka; Stephan Anthonisz - Chief Executive Officer, Asian Hotels & Properties, Samantha Rajapaksa - Chief Executive Officer, Softlogic Communications and many others.
(JH)