LAN, Ford Foundation to jointly help start-ups grow
View(s):The Lankan Angel Network (LAN) this week announced that it has signed a landmark grant agreement with the Ford Foundation to catalyse the growth of Sri Lanka’s start-up ecosystem.
The US$300,000 grant is the first of its kind for the Ford Foundation in Sri Lanka and will be utilised to reach entrepreneurs across multiple sectors island wide, LAN said in a media release.
While Sri Lanka’s start-up ecosystem has grown rapidly, it is still very much focused in Colombo. The grant will focus on growing skills, entrepreneurship and reaching more people operating at the grassroots level. To achieve these goals, LAN will collaborate with key, long-term ecosystem partners working across the island.
Through LAN, the grant will help support the ‘I AM HER’ programme which empowers female entrepreneurs and develops the landscape for women-led start-ups in Sri Lanka; launch an Angel Fund to support early-stage start-ups, and; support Sri Lanka’s largest annual venture competition, Venture Engine, which has a mission to empower entrepreneurs. Other initiatives will focus on founder and funder education.
The Ford Foundation has a long history of working to advance innovation, fairness, opportunity, and human dignity around the world, including over 60 years in South Asia. “We look forward to our partnership with Lankan Angel Network and its implementation of programmes to accelerate the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Sri Lanka in order to address income and gender inequality,” said Pradeep Nair, Regional Director for Ford Foundation, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
“Partnering with the Ford Foundation is an honour and a privilege for LAN. It’s an endorsement of our efforts and strengthens our vision for the next decade. With this support, we aim to promote entrepreneurship across the country,” said Mano Sekaram, Chairman, LAN. “Furthermore, we believe this partnership will provide much-needed expertise to accelerate the growing start-up ecosystem.”
“Since the inception of LAN, one of our goals has been to reduce inequality via the empowerment of entrepreneurs. I am happy to note that a global organisation such as the Ford Foundation, recognised our vision and has partnered us to accelerate the process via the eight programmes planned for year 2020/21,” said Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Founder LAN/Managing Partner BOVCapital.