A high-profile team from Ekva LLC,a US company with strong Sri Lankan roots will launch their accelerator in mid-March in a bid to strengthen, support and grow local start-ups.
Ekva/ එක්ව/ ஒன்றாக/ Together is a company with equal opportunity irrespective of language, colour, gender identity or persons differently-abled entrenched in their ethos.
Their accelerator, uniquely called ek’celerator will accept applications from
incorporated or non-incorporated startups at any stage from an idea, proof of concept (PoC),or minimum viable product (MVP)to those vying for traction and early revenue.
AmithBoteju, CEO Ekva said the ek’celerator will place the can did at es through specialised educational courses toenhancetheir skills
such as finance, management, relationship building, language, presentation skills, go-to-market strategies, crisis management, and
fund raising.
Selected startups should aim to raise the first round of seed funding in 6-12 months and will be selected by the Ekva Investment Committee (IC) to participate in a part-time accelerator programme during a 3–4- month period to build their companies.
The companies will receive a pre seed investment from Ekva Accelerator to
support the company and fast track its development during the program.
Selected companies will participate in the program while working full time in company building.
Initial rounds will be done in major cities such asColombo, Jaffna, Kandy, and Galle with the finale done Live in Colombo. Boteju added that exclusive video production will be made and there will be a live YouTubeand
Television broadcast of this program. The local and international TV rights
are under negotiation, he added. Ekva has established international expertise with decades of experience in entrepreneurship, financial management, marketing, fundraising, entertainment, and business management from the US and Europe.
“With Sri Lankans at the lead, we understand the local needs, local flavor,
and local thinking. We teamed up with International experts who have worked in top management positions at leading corporate giants such as JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank, AT&T, Cirque Du Soleil , MGM Hospitality,Akon Legacy Ventures, Rabo Bank, Finish Line etc. to bring in international expertise to find bright lights in the country,” he added.
Ekva will secure special support from partners such as AWS, Google, Azure,
Salesforce, Hubspot, etc. to provide essential tools to the selected start-ups.
“We will give umbrella support in HR, Legal, Marketing, Accounting &Compliance to the selected startups,”
Bradley Seelig, CFO said noting, “Our long- term aim is for Sri Lanka to join the Unicorn Club within the next 10 years, hopefully with one of our portfolio companies.”
Email : ir@ekva.io
Web : ekva.io