Sri Lankan tech startup incubator and accelerator StartupX Foundry recently launched its entrepreneurship initiative, “Vyawasayakayanta Athwelak,” a knowledge sharing platform that aims to bridge the gap in entrepreneurial knowledge pertaining to startups, particularly in underserved communities to both guide and encourage rural entrepreneurship. The program has been initiated with support from StartupX Foundry’s local ecosystem partners, the Lankan Angel Network (LAN) and Ford Foundation.

LAN CEO Chalinda Abeykoon stated, “Not all entrepreneurs are cut from the same cloth. Irrespective of which part of the country they come from, they all had similar questions. They all faced similar challenges when it comes to growing their startup. ‘Vyawasayakayanta Athwelak’, which means ‘A Guiding Hand for Entrepreneurs’, is a direct response to the industry insights that have emerged due to LAN’s and StartupX Foundry’s many years of experience within the local ecosystem.”

Featuring over 40 panellists, with over 20 hours of video content, the topics addressed include personal traits of successful entrepreneurs, idea generation and business models, financial modelling, essentials of legal aspects, branding, product management and managing intellectual property. Topics such as how to tap into the support and funding available for startups through government entities are also addressed. The episodes feature speakers from ICTA, EDB and LAN along with success stories and lessons learned from multiple local entrepreneurs. To facilitate its access among the widest audience possible, “Vyawasayakayanta Athwelak” will offer all videos with English and Tamil subtitles. The content is publicly available on StartupX Foundry’s YouTube channel and can be found at https://tinyurl.com/sxf-startingabusiness.

StartupX Foundry Founder Mano Sekaram stated, “Encouraging rural entrepreneurship is key to see us prosper as a nation. Entrepreneurs are special, they can identify and respond to opportunities even in the toughest of times. I believe this video series will educate and support them to be successful in their journey.”

StartupX Foundry is a tech startup catalyst dedicated to honing Sri Lankan technological ventures with potential and taking them from inspiration to exit – and vitally, helping them reach the global marketspace. It is powered by a dynamic ecosystem of both local and international talent, investors and startup personalities to provide the tools necessary to take an idea, forge it into a viable product or service and take it to market. Award winning digital products incubated at StartupX Foundry include Tracified, a blockchain enabled traceability platform, and the learning experience platform Maturify.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, non-profit grant-making organisation. For more than 80 years it has worked with courageous people on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. LAN is a platform for angel and private investors who invest in high growth early-stage Sri Lankan ventures with the aim of creating an impact by reducing inequality.