Venture Engine ’14 launched, entries close May 26
The third edition of startup competition Venture Engine will be accepting business plans until May 26. This ‘Angel’ investor-led initiative, which has provided funding for 12 companies to date, to the tune of Rs. 200 million, is also holding the finale for its 2014 competition on July 3, according to organisers.
Picture shows - Ms. Charitha Abeyratne, Top 10 - Venture Engine 2013; Rajan Anandan, Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Ventures; Paddy Weerasekera, Head of Marketing, Corporate Communications and CSR, Expolanka Holdings; Jeevan Gnanam, CEO of Orion City; Jeremy Huxtable, Group Chief Officer, Dialog Enterprise; Padmaja Ruparel, President of the Indian Angel Network and Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Ventures.
Speaking at a media launch for the 2014 event, Prajeeth Balasubramanium, the Co-Founder/Managing Director of angel investor Blue Ocean Ventures, one of the organisers of this competition from its inception, noted that Venture Engine had not only funded a number of startups but also facilitated over 1,000 jobs and US$ 1 million in FDIs being added to the national economy. He also noted that once a company reaches the finalist stage of this competition, it has the ability to access any amount of funding it needs through the Lankan and Indian Angel Network groups, with no ceiling applicable, to start or expand operations.
Commenting further, Rajan Anandan, the other Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Ventures (also the current Managing Director of Google India) revealed that, of the 12 companies funded to date as part of the Venture Engine programme, two were already Rs. 100 million companies, 24×7 Techies and Ridgecrest, with the next milestone for them being to reach the Rs. 1 billion mark. He also indicated that, of the others, Takas.lk had already grown to become the largest online electronic store in Sri Lanka, Trekurious had set up shop in Bangalore, India, to tap into that market, and the Lanka BPO Academy had expanded in scope to now training thousands, with the others also making positive strides.
Meanwhile, also addressing the audience, Jeevan Gnanam, the Chief Executive of IT park Orion City, one of the sponsors of this competition, signalled that its current 500,000 square feet of commercial space will be extended to a total of Rs. 3 million square feet by 2018. Orion City is a subsidiary of Sri Lanka’s St. Anthony’s Group.