‘Saviman’ offers free techno advice to social enterprises
Taken from Sanskrit, the word “Saviman” alludes to instigation, guidance and direction. Aptly titled, Saviman is a new venture offering free technological advice to social enterprises and non-profit organisations. The advice comes from local and international experts in various fields of technology, offering their services free of charge for the benefit of those trying to make a social impact in the world.
On February 9, the British Council hosted the launch of Saviman with an evening talk headed by the brains behind the site which has already helped many an organisation.
Sri Lanka’s “Google Man” Rohan Jayaweera
The idea quite casually sprung up at the FUTURES- Social Innovation Forum held last year when a simple thought entered Rohan Jayaweera’s mind. “Wouldn’t it be cool to have a platform where people can ask technological questions from experts in the field?” Known to the tech world as Sri Lanka’s “Google Man”, Rohan was the first employee of Google in Sri Lanka and played a major role in helping the government, brands and organisations develop their web practices. He put the idea across to a dream team of tech wizards including Samisa Abeysinghe, Vice President of Delivery at WSO2 and Harsha Purasinghe- CEO, Microimage who is incidentally a lover of Sanskrit.
The newly launched, easy to use site makes seeking out tech advice that much easier for most of us who are not as technologically conversant. With fourteen fields of expertise and eighteen experts, the site looks into problems from general IT to e-commerce, web development and digital marketing. “We couldn’t find a single site that gives advice without a profit,” explained another member of the team; engineer and entrepreneur Chandika Jayasundara.
Fresh from his visit to the USA, Harsha hadn’t seen a service like Saviman while abroad. With experts providing their time and advice on a voluntary basis, the group sees their venture as a golden opportunity to use technology to deliver greater social impact and positive change.
Speaking at the forum were two young individuals from social, non-profit enterprises who greatly benefited from Saviman. For Anoka Abeyrathne, director at Sustain Solutions and Sharanya Sekaram – executive committee member, Unity Mission Trust, the tech problems they faced only kept them from reaching their potential and goal. “You can’t avoid using technology today,” said Sharanya. It’s why an enterprise like Saviman is of so much value to social entrepreneurs. “A service like Saviman empowers non-profit organisations.”