Venture Engine 2014 sees many of the finalists with funding options
View(s):The 2014 edition of start-up funding competition Venture Engine concluded this week, with several of the 14 finalists receiving funding commitments from a pool of 300 potential investors comprising the Lankan and Indian Angel Networks, which partnered this competition.
According to a recent statement, the finalists comprised “AirDrops, a socially-active premium drinking water extraction company; Extrogene, a software solutions provider with a focus on the telco sector; Butterfly Kisses, a children’s clothing and accessory brand; Endemic, a business built around Sri Lankan fauna; Healthy Living, a lifestyle brand with a focus on solving obesity issues; Katha, a platform for creating and storing voice content; Mogo, a news narrative mobile application; OMAK IT, solutions with a focus on restaurant management solutions; Zacki Skin Paste, delivering Ayurvedic skin care products; Zigzag, an online portal for local designers; Mihiri – Wearable Art, a collection of unique jewellery; Swimwear by Zii, catering to the conservative woman; Jeevana, Sri Lanka’s only matchmaking service; and Intellocut, an intelligent material planning and optimisation software”.
Meanwhile, speaking to the Business Times in the lead up to the July 3 finale, Prajeeth Balasubramanium, the Co-Founder of Blue Ocean Ventures, which organises this competition, commented, “All 14 stand a good chance to get funded. Intellocut and OMAK have already got some commitments. Glitteray from last year is also pitching for Round 2 and also has got some commitments from their existing shareholders”.
Elaborating further, he signalled that, considering the large pool of potential investors, “funding (was) not an issue. We (needed) to ensure that all finalists (presented) well so that they (got) oversubscribed”.
Mr. Balasubramanium also noted that, while the number of business plans received by the entry closing date was 120, only 56 were shortlisted for the programme, which was later whittled down further to 14. Namely, “all the companies that we thought had a chance of getting funded got through to the final”, he opined. However, he did also note that the “quality and number of plans keep improving each year. This is a testimony towards the growth of the Lankan ecosystem”.
In conclusion, Mr. Balasubramanium also outlined some possible avenues for Venture Engine’s future, said, “We are in the process of forging partnerships with various other programmes to create a pipeline for entrepreneurs… We are also looking at expanding our investor community by tying up with overseas angel networks”.