4 July 2016 12:00 am
The 2016 edition of Venture Engine drew to a close recently, with a gala awards night at the Kingsbury Hotel.
Marking the fifth anniversary of a programme that has become widely known for empowering Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, top honours at Venture Engine 2016 Finale went to Hire 1, while Quebee Den and Direct2Door, respectively, were adjudged runner-up and second runner-up overall. Hire 1 was also named the recipient of the inaugural Impact Entrepreneurship Award. Commenting on this year’s highly successful Venture Engine and its empowerment of five years of Sri Lankan entrepreneurship, Blue Ocean Ventures Co-Founder Rajan Anandan said, “Now, with all eyes on them, I have no doubt that their victory at this high-profile event will lead to even more visibility and opportunities for funding in the future.” Venture Engine 2016 saw over 200 entries encompassing a wide range of industries, including ICT, tourism, ecommerce, food and beverages, logistics, tourism, retail and education, amongst other sectors.
This year’s finalists included processed and canned palmyrah toddy maker Gala, 3D printer M3DLAB, budget stays network Vista Rooms, the YouTube for multilingual content KitVita, men’s innerwear brand Cavani, logistics firm Hire 1, SaaS for SMEs service BuzzFlow, WiFi platform Wifyer, healthy and safe baby products brand Quebee Den and grocery delivery venture Direct2Door.
“The successful conclusion of this year’s Venture Engine is particularly special, since it puts us in the enviable position of being ready to host the Asian Business Angel Forum in Sri Lanka in 2017, during which our beautiful island will welcome a large delegation of potential angel investors, many of whom will be visiting us for the first time and from locales as far away as China, Australia and the USA,” said Blue Ocean Ventures Co-Founder Prajeeth Balasubramaniam. Importantly, the Venture Engine 2016 Finale was attended by representatives of top international, regional and local Angel funds including 500 Startups, as well as Venture Capital (VC) firms such as Lightbox Ventures, Sistema Ventures Asia, Prime Ventures, Ambit Finvest and TMT APAC, Citi Corporate and Investment Banking, and even leading regional high net worth investors.
The next step for the top three winners, as well as even other business plans that participated in the Venture Engine 2016 programme, will be to meet and discuss partnerships with
potential investors.