Venture Engine draws to a successful close

The 2016 edition of Venture Engine drew to a close on Wednesday with a gala awards night at The Kingsbury Hotel. 

Marking the fifth anniversary of a program that has become widely known for empowering Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, top honours at the 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, Rajan Anandan, Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Ventures, said: “My congratulations to Venture Engine's top three for capturing the limelight as the top fundable companies in 2016. 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 Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Ventures. 

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 program, will be to meet and discuss partnerships with potential investors. A great benefit of this program, and its various partnerships, is the opportunities afforded to every participant regardless of their ultimate ranking. Throughout the competition, during pitches, workshops and presentations, participants have continual access to potential investment from the Lankan and Indian Angel Networks, as well as VCs, who often choose to invest in a number of companies beyond those only making it to the Finale.

Conceptualised by Blue Ocean Ventures, in collaboration with the Indian Angel Network, Venture Engine is run by strategic partner Lankan Angel Network, and backed by platinum sponsors Expolanka Holdings, Orion City, Dialog and Aavishkaar, supported by KfW, a German-Government owned development bank.

To date, over 20 companies have achieved remarkable levels of success as a result of Venture Engine, with key local innovators, including Takas.lk, Trekurious, OMAK Technologies, Ridgecrest (tickets.lk), Saraii (eco-village), Simplex, Extrogene, Nithya, Katha, Wild Trails (eco-adventure), House of Lonali, Glitteray, Threadsol (IntelloCut), Lanka BPO Academy, MyWish (weddings), Push Skateboards, Healthy Living, Zacki Herbal Products, Zigzag.lk, Endemic and 24-7 Techies, having been mentored and funded, to the tune of $ 7 million, over the last four years.

With a focus on real world results, Venture Engine has, since 2012, provided Sri Lankan entrepreneurs with every opportunity needed to fast track business success, specifically by developing stronger business plans, aided by mentoring sessions, in addition to educational workshops on Accounting, Governance, Marketing, Legal, Recruitment, etc. that feature some of the region’s top entrepreneurs and business leaders. Currently, the program has provided 'smart money' worth US$ 7 million to more than 20 start-ups with, with this year's Venture Engine being held for its fifth highly successful year. 

Pix by Upul Abayasekara