June 2016 - Lanka Business News

June 24, 2016

Xpressjobs.lk was launched in November 2015 to fill a vacuum between jobseekers and employers. Pioneered by Mr. Chathum Henegama and Dr. Oshadie Korale (B.Sc) (PhD), the job portal provides an effective and user-friendly platform for job seekers to connect with companies seeking specific skill-sets.

Xpressjobs.lk has enjoyed unprecedented popularity since its launch – within six months they have collected an impressive lineup of over 1000 companies offering employment, including organizations such as MAS Holdings, the Colombo Stock Exchange, John Keells Holdings and HSBC.

The online portal has now gone the extra mile for SME’s startups and freelancers with a ground-breaking Legal Aid Project to provide FREE Legal Aid to those desperately in need of legal information, but are unable to afford lawyer’s fees. Legal Aid is provided by lawyers who are specialized in Company Law, Commercial Contracts and Land. The Legal Aid Project page on Xpressjobs.lk has a link that can be easily accessed, and a small area is provided for users to fill in the details of the issue. A response will be provided within 3-5 days on any questions relating to the above areas of law, such as, registering businesses, whether to go for a limited liability company or a sole proprietorship, employee matters, registering trademarks, how to deal with vendor disputes and non-paying clients, land matters (such as questions relating to gifts, leases, title searches) etc.

“Even before launching your business, it is very easy to fall into trouble if you have no legal knowledge of how to conduct your business properly. Our aim with this free service is to connect SME’s, Startups and Individuals with a panel of lawyers who can provide pro bono advice and assist these newcomers into the market with the correct information and pave the way for them to succeed.” said Dr. Oshadie Korale.

She went on to say, “XpressJobs.lk and the lawyers involved in this Legal Aid Project are providing information free of charge and for informational purposes only. Since the information is provided free of charge, we cannot represent or warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information provided. Legal Aid will be limited to information only and will not cover land/ title searches or notarial attestations, contract drafting or company incorporations.

June 15, 2016

Partner at 500 Startups, Pankaj Jain, will be hosting a 2-hour workshop for Venture Engine participants, as well as other Sri Lanka-based start-ups, on June 30, 2016, at Lankan Angel Network Incubation Centre in Colombo 04. This event is part of Venture Engine’s long-running workshop series, which frequently offers opportunities to not only learn from, but also interact with, top international, regional and local Angel Investors and Venture Capital firms.

Visiting Sri Lanka for the 2016 Venture Engine finale, scheduled for June 29, which 500 Startups will attend, along with a number of other top international and regional Venture Capital (VC) firms, Pankaj runs the India-, Bangladesh- and Sri Lanka-focused 500 “Kulfi” Fund, which recently unveiled plans to invest $25 million in early stage companies with product-market fit and demonstrated traction. While it considers itself sector-agnostic, the 500 “Kulfi” Fund has noted that its initial plans involve taking a closer look at FinTech, EdTech, Health & Wellness, Data Analytics, Content and SaaS/SMB.

Interestingly, as a part of his presentation, Pankaj will be highlighting the role of 500 Startups in India where it has funded more than 50 companies since 2011, including start-ups such as ZipDial, SourceEasy, Instamojo, CultureAlley, SilverPush, KartRocket, and Headout.

Also attending the June 29 Venture Engine Finale will be representatives of top international VCs including Lightbox Ventures, Sistema Ventures Asia, Prime Ventures, Ambit Finvest and TMT APAC, Citi Corporate and Investment Banking, as well as leading regional high net worth investors.

At the same time, Blue Ocean Ventures Co-Founder Rajan Anandan will host a preparatory session for Venture Engine 2016 finalists on June 28, 2016 at the Lankan Angel Network Incubation Centre. Rajan is the Vice President and Managing Director for Google Southeast Asia and India and, as such, is responsible for Google’s operations in India, as well as being a prolific angel investor in early stage technology companies in India and USA.

Currently in its final phases, Venture Engine has already begun conducting educational workshops for its 2016 participants, encompassing approaches to improve business plans, aided by customised mentoring sessions, as well as informative sessions on Accounting, Governance, Marketing, Legal, Recruitment, etc. The next milestone for Venture Engine participants is the selection of “Top Fundable” finalists for 2016.

Importantly, over the last five years, Venture Engine has continually raised awareness about the potential of Angel Investment across the wider, Sri Lankan entrepreneur community with a series of workshops highlighting topics like “What angel investors and VCs look for”, “Support given to early-stage entrepreneurs”, “Benefits to entrepreneurs”, “Benefits to investors”, etc. In 2016, public workshops were held primarily at the Lankan Angel Network Incubation Centre, along with presentations by Lankan Angel Network investors at the University of Moratuwa, the Post-graduate Institute of Management (PIM), the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) and the University of Peradeniya, to name just a few.

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), Extrogene, Nithya, Katha, Simplex, 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 US$ 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 programme 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.

June 7, 2016

• ‘Reduced SATHOSA losses greatly!’-Rishad
• Says looking to announce first breakeven in next Budget
• ‘Losses fell from R 844Mn to R 68Mn’-Rishad
• SATHOSA expanding to 500 strong network
• ‘Working to hit 4 in store equity’-Dr Rohantha
• Premium land plots for prizewinners

Unilever Sri Lanka, the Lankan presence of global FMCG giant has joined forces with the largest state owned FMCG network in Sri Lanka’s first ever “land sweepstakes”. And the state owned FMCG network has succeeded in steadily reducing its losses in a few months–almost twelvefold!

“It gives me great pleasure to promote FMCG items with a global multinational such as Unilever Sri Lanka” said Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen (under whose purview Lanka Sathosa falls) on 30 May at Club Palm Bay in Marawila.

Minister Bathiudeen was addressin the launch event of the unique FMCG promotion campaign “Idam Nidhaanaya” (Land Treasure) by Lanka SATHOSA and Unilever Lanka where consumers get access to a pioneering sweepstake to win one of three prime land plots developed and ready for them.

Lanka Sathosa is the largest state owned FMCG network in the country. The government plans to expand the 312 strong present Sathosa network to 500 outlets by 2016/’17.

Praising both FMCG giants for the initiative, Minister Bathiudeen said: “It gives me great pleasure to promote FMCG items with a global multinational such as Unilever Sri Lanka. What is more important is that this is the first time-ever that such a different and unusual promotion is taking place in the country. I commend Unilever for choosing Sathosa for this pioneering promotional style in Sri Lanka. I am also pleased to say that Lanka Sathosa has reduced its monthly losses from Rs 844 million to Rs 68 million. I am positive that in a few months we shall start reporting profits from the country’s leading state owned FMCG operator. I am eagerly looking forward to announce the news of SATHOSA break-even at this year’s Budget speech. The reason for loss reduction is streamlining operations and network expansion.”

Chairman of Lanka Sathosa Dr Rohantha Athukorala addressing the event said that as a result of the leadership of Minister Bathiudeen, Lanka Sathosa is now emerging as a ‘profit making FMCG giant’ from its previous state of a ‘loss making public entity.’ “We are Sri Lanka’s FMCG price-setter. We are aiming at increasing our store equity to 4.0 very soon” he said. In December 2015, Lanka Sathosa was ranked second among all retail chain brands in the country at a store equity of 3.4 among the mass market consumers.

Unilever Sri Lanka has 29 leading brands in respective FMCG categories. Some of the well-known brands in its Lankan portfolio are Signal toothpaste, Lux, Surf Excel, Rexona, Lipton, Knorr, Becel/Flora, Dove and Omo.

Xpressjobs.lk : The Legal Aid Project for SME’s, Startups and Individuals

500 Startups’ Pankaj Jain partners with Venture Engine for June 30 workshop

Unilever joins SATHOSA in Sri Lanka’s first ever land sweepstakes