PwC, SLASSCOM bring back top startup event for local entries
View(s):PwC Sri Lanka and SLASSCOM have once again teamed up to bring back the local pitching event for Europe’s leading and largest annual start-up and technology event, SLUSH, with an opportunity that will allow the winner at the local competition to take part at the global event to be held in Finland later this year.
The Sri Lankan leg of the competition will be held on September 8 and will bring together local start-ups who will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges representing the industry. The judges will shortlist three of the best startups based on the SLUSH Global Impact Accelerator selection criteria, and subsequently the SLUSH Final Selection Committee will select the winner from Sri Lanka after conducting live interviews with the three shortlisted start-ups, the organisers said in a media release.
The Sri Lankan winner will fly to Helsinki, Finland to take part at the global event which will take place from November 30 to December 1. SLUSH will cover the transportation, accommodation and other programme related costs of the 2017 Sri Lankan winner.
This is the second consecutive year that the SLUSH local pitching event is held in Sri Lanka. Both PwC and SLASSCOM introduced the global event for local start-ups for the first time in 2016. PwC Sri Lanka is the exclusive hub manager in Sri Lanka for SLUSH 2017.
The SLUSH Global Impact Accelerator (GIA) is a programme created in collaboration with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and other global multiple partners. The objective of the annual event is to support impact-driven startups and showcase exciting business opportunities in emerging markets, and the event in Sri Lanka is seen as an important initiative to empower local startups.
This year the organisers at the global event are looking for start-ups that have the vision to solve pressing challenges globally, and also find solutions to support the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Startups that will take part in the global event must also have a business idea that has gained some traction but is still at an early phase, along with the potential to scale, and the skills and drive to succeed, the release added.
During last year’s event in Helsinki, over 2300 start-ups took part from over 120 countries, and the event also brought together at least 1100 venture capitalists and 600 journalists. SLUSH has also gained recognition as an important event that connects startups to top tier international investors from around the world.
In 2016, NicNac was adjudged Sri Lanka’s best impact oriented start-up at the SLUSH pitching event held in Colombo, and the company’s representative flew to Helsinki to take part in the global event.