Lankan angels come to the rescue of innovative SL inventors who are short of funds
For decades, young ingenious Sri Lankan inventors, who essentially which should be the soul of local entrepreneurship and innovation, have not had a godfather until the new-dynamic team at the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC) and a funding group, the Lanka Angel Network (LAN), made an entry.
The two groups backed by a large number of investors are now in a matching exercise to connect the inventors with investors.
This week in this combined initiative titled “A New Dawn of Innovation and Technology” launched in Colombo at the BMICH, prospective inventors were invited to collect their applications for funding prospects and to register.
Explaining how LAN operates, Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, Blue Ocean Ventures (Pvt) Ltd (BOV) and also in charge of LAN said that LAN is a platform to discuss business competition plan and a platform where inventors, innovators and investors come together.
He said that BOV was started in 2010 and said that they have created a programme called ‘Venture Engine’. This is a platform with a large business competition plan where inventors and investors come together.
They get the business plan and take it to the investors, he said. The venture engine founded by Blue Ocean Ventures, USA and Indian Angel Network had the programme once a year but thereafter the Indian Angel Network left and as there were no others to fund Sri Lankans, Blue Ocean Ventures started Lankan Angel Network (LAN) and it now consists of 60 investors to fund entrepreneurs.
He said that LAN has already distributed US$1.5 million among 12 Sri Lankan companies.
One of those recipients who was funded by LAN, Charitha Abeyratne, Founder/CEO, Saraii (The Essence of Sri Lanka) who spoke at the function revealed the novel concept of tourism on how to localise both ends – the tourist and the local community. Her revelations made clear what the genuine foreign traveller looks for – a new experience other than what they experience, what is called the concrete jungles – the sky creeper hotels in their countries.
She has chosen the locality in a remote village Kanayagama, Weerawila and modelled her tourist abodes in cabana style but entirely localised and modelled as farmer watch-huts giving an interesting experience to the visitor amidst an atmosphere of how the village farmer lives. She said her concept is very popular as she strived to ensure all the other comforts the visitor required.
All the food is prepared with the locally collected items and at the same time if the visitor needed the food of his or her choice they too are provided to the liking of the visitor. Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Commissioner, SLIC said that they have signed a MoU with LAN mainly to find ways and means to help the inventors. He said that LAN has a group of investors who are looking for potential business and this event is to introduce LAN to the inventors.