August 30, 2016
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3min

Regus Sri Lanka, the flexible workspace solutions provider, recently conducted a community event that focused on the rising number of startups in Sri Lanka. The event, held under the theme “Using your networks to accelerate your start-up”, was carried out in collaboration with Startup Sri Lanka, an initiative by SLASSCOM Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum. This event was held at Regus Business Centre located at the McLaren’s Building in Colombo 4.

The event was dedicated to startups and entrepreneurs as community networking provides specialist support to entrepreneurs and SMEs looking to kick-start their business. A total of 20startups from several industries including FinTech, Mobile App Development, E-Commerce, Digital Services, Education, Bio Technology, HealthTech, Branding & Marcom participated in the event which featured two renowned experts in the field. The keynote address and mentoring was done by Rohan Paulus – Country Head of LSEG Business Services while Aloka Gunasekera- Director of Half-Life also addressed the audience.

During the event, Regus Sri Lanka highlighted the various types of innovative, affordable services that startups can avail themselves to by coming to Regus. These include meeting rooms, co-working spaces, collaborative spaces, virtual offices and drop-in lounges.In Sri Lanka, Regus Offices are available in prime locations in Colombo and immediate suburbs.

Speaking about the event, Dr. Nirmal De Silva – Country Manager of Regus Sri Lanka stated, “Regus community networking is an exciting new initiative that gives startups and other organizations the perfect platform for growth. It is exciting to see such young, vibrant startups come together under one roof to network, interact and educate themselves on what lies out there for their ventures. We see such networking events as an important part of creating the start-up ecosystem in the country. As with any business venture, there is definitely a requirement for office space but you need not be restricted to the traditional, costly offices that people are generally used. Through Regus’ flexible workspaces, you can easily access a wide variety of conveniently-located workspaces based on your requirement and budget.”

Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace solutions, with a network of 2,850 locations across 107 countries and over 1,000 cities, serving 2.3 million members. Regus’ customers include some of the most successful entrepreneurs, individuals and multi-billion dollar corporations in the world.


August 18, 2016
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3min

Unilever Continues to Reign as Country’s Most Respected Multinational
Ranked 4th most respected business entity in Sri Lanka

Unilever Sri Lanka was rated as the most respected multinational company in the country yet again by the Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD) in the 12th annual LMD Most Respected Entities in Sri Lanka rankings released recently. The ranking further ascertains the company’s position as a leading global enterprise with deep local roots.

Unilever emerged as the 4th most respected business entity in Sri Lanka, overall. This marks the 10th consecutive year that the company has been ranked within the top ten. Commenting on Unilever Sri Lanka’s position on its rankings, LMD notes that “Unilever Sri Lanka is recognized by its peers and stakeholders for its corporate culture”.

“It is an honor to be voted amongst the most respected companies in the country and to have emerged as the highest ranked multinational yet again,” said Carl Cruz, Chairman of Unilever Sri Lanka. “A result of the untiring efforts of the extended Unilever Sri Lanka team, this ranking is a symbol of the strong bonds we share with the community. True to our vision of making sustainable living commonplace, we will continue to strive to grow our business, whilst reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact.”

LMD’s Most Respected rankings are based on a survey conceptualized and commissioned by Lanka Monthly Digest (LMD), the leading business publication in the country and conducted by leading research firm Nielsen. This year’s survey covered 800 respondents, managers and above, from listed companies, the LMD 100 (2014 / 2015) and Brands Annual (2015).

About Unilever: Unilever Sri Lanka is one of the biggest FMCG companies in Sri Lanka, with 29 market leading brands in categories such as Home Care, Personal Care and Foods. Established in Sri Lanka in 1938 with brands such as Sunlight, Lux and Pears. Unilever’s corporate purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace, and the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan sets out to decouple the company’s growth from environmental impact, while increasing its positive social impact. The Plan has three big goals that by 2020 will help improve people’s health and well-being, reduce the company’s environmental footprint, and enhance livelihoods across its value chain.


August 4, 2016
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4min

Disrupt Asia, supported and organized by the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka in partnership with Edulink International Campus, Angel Labs, Crowd Island, Lankan Angel Network, StartUp Sri Lanka, Seven Media, Readme, Takas.lk, Arimac, and Shoutout, was held at the Hilton Colombo today from 8.00 a.m. onwards, featuring a number of events, including a conference, investor workshop, tech showcase, startup battles and networking session. Startup Battle Voltage230 was powered by Readme, LOLC and Hutch. Meanwhile, the Slingshot Startup Battle was powered by Hemas while John Keells X was powered by SGIT and JKCS.

The first of its kind event to be held in Sri Lanka saw a gathering of the startup ecosystem of Sri Lanka including investors, mentors, Government agencies, the media and a plethora of startups representing various industries.

Conference

A number of Silicon Valley experts and key Sri Lankan thought leaders were featured as speakers throughout the day. The morning keynote titled ‘the Rise of the Startups’ was presented by Startup Compass COO JF Gauthir while the evening keynote was delivered by mobile advertising network Kiip Co-Founder and CEO Brian Wong. The Chief Guest at the event was the Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure, Hon. Harin Fernando.

The local lineup of speakers included ICTA CEO Muhunthan Canagey, Business Coach and Entrepreneur Fayaz Hudah, Cinergix CEO Chandika Jayasundara, Calcey Co-Founder and CEO Mangala Karunaratne, ICTA Director of Projects Arunesh Peter, Creately Co-Founder and CTO Hiraash Thawfeek, PayMedia Founder Kanishka Weeramunda, SurgeViral Founder Bhanuka Harishchandra, WSO2 Writer/Marketer Yudhanjaya Wijeratne and many more.

Investor Forum

The ICT Agency of Sri Lanka in partnership with the US Embassy also brought down Silicon Valley investors along with AngelLabs for a full day workshop dedicated to high net worth individuals. The event was supported by Crowd Island and the Lankan Angel Network (LAN).

Sheel Tyle (investments in SnapDeal & Pinterest) from NEA addressed the audience on best practices in seed stage investments and how to become a limited partner in a fund.

Arteen Arabshahi (investments in Gyft acquired by First Data Corporation) of Karlin Asset Management provided a comprehensive understanding of Venture Capital investing including how to develop an investment thesis, build a portfolio strategy and pick the winners.

Tugce Ergul of Angel Labs spoke on the mechanics of angel investing including building a proprietary deal flow, deal negotiation and how to add value as an angel investor.

Tech Showcase

Meanwhile, 35 tech startups got the opportunity to exhibit their innovative products and solutions to 60 potential investors. This was the biggest showcase of tech startups to date. The products and solutions exhibited focused on multiple verticals including healthcare, travel and tourism, retail and education. Augmented reality, Internet of Things, embedded systems, payment gateways, social networks were some of the underlying technology concepts of the exhibits.

Startup Battles

Exhibiting startups got to pitch at the startup battles. Voltage230 was powered by Readme, LOLC and Hutch. Slingshot Startup battle was powered by Hemas while John Keells X was powered by SGIT and JKCS.



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