Taxi finder app ‘Dolawa’ tops MIT-GSL Sri Lanka 2014 challenge
View(s):The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Global Start-up Labs (MIT-GSL) Sri Lanka 2014 challenge concluded recently with taxi finder “Dolawa” being adjudged overall winner, while electronic surveillor “EagleEye” and organic ingredients sourcer “Organic Hug” were placed first and second runner-up, respectively.
It was also revealed that, going forward, each team would have the “opportunity to launch its start-up with SLASSCOM and receive a grant from Brandix in aid of this process”.
‘Dolawa’ - the start-up team adjudged the winner of the MIT-GSL Sri Lanka Challenge 2014 with Brandix Director Udena Wickremesooriya (extreme left) and Madu Ratnayake, Chairman Emeritus of SLASSCOM (second left).
Further, according to the announcement, the “2014 MIT-GSL Sri Lanka programme commenced on January, 9, 2014, and ended on Wednesday July, 30. The programme is to be offered twice a year to second-year or older undergraduates as well as recent graduates of Sri Lankan universities… The top seven teams that presented their start-up ideas after seven months of brainstorming, training and mentorship provided by the programme, were chosen from the 75 original participants selected from an initial pool of 380 applicants from several higher education institutions including the Universities of Moratuwa, Colombo and Sabaragamuwa, the Open University of Sri Lanka, the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT), the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), and Alliance Francaise de Kotte”.
The announcement also added that, “(from) the delivery of therapy to dyslexic children, accessing organic vegetables and fruit, or eliminating false alarms generated by electronic surveillance systems, to helping university students find lodging facilities, commuters to locate the taxis closest to their locations, and retailers to know, engage and retain customers, the ideas were presented to potential investors at the programme’s ‘Demo Day’… The panel of judges at the ‘Demo Day’ comprised members of the Lanka Angel Network (LAN) Dumindra Ratnayake, Mano Sekeram, Asantha Wijeratne, Hiran Wickramasinghe, Duminda Jayatilleka and Rohitha Mendis. The seven start-ups that pitched their ideas for investor support were ‘Organic Hug’ (Reap the harvest near at hand), ‘TopNotch’ (Understand, engage and retain your customers), ‘ShopIn’ (Helping fashion retailers know the unknown), ‘Dolawa’ (Taxi around the corner), ‘D-Care’ (Your child can learn easier and faster), ‘Boarding.lk’ (Find a boarding place that feels like home) and ‘EagleEye’ (Stay notified, stay safe)”.
(JH)