Fostering students with an entrepreneurial mindset and directing their notable brain power towards building solutions for a sustainable future by launching innovative companies that meet the needs of the future market landscape, was the focus of a recent educational webinar held for university students of the Uva Wellassa area by Sri Lanka Association of Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM).  

Dedicated towards harnessing the talents of emerging entrepreneurs, the aim of this initiative was in expanding regional inclusivity, building capacity and skills, and enabling technology diffusion and gender specific initiatives in the Uva region for tech start-ups, higher education institutes as well as schools.

This event covered a comprehensive line up of subject areas that covered studying the competitive market landscape, identifying the best type of start-ups that suits your needs, how to promote the startup, raise capital, build and lead teams and scale-up the business for the global market landscape.

Case studies were highlighted where the participants were showcased 3 entrepreneurial journeys of former university students who are now successful entrepreneurs in their own right.

These entrepreneurial journeys comprised those of Nadun Wijetunga: Director at G3 Technologies (Pvt) Ltd, a software Development Company that designs industrial level applications as well as mobile applications to the customers, Nalaka Jayasekara: Managing Director at Bitzify an ERP Software Services company and Kalinga Gunawardhana: a regional IT leader and  an academic specialized in Business Intelligence and CEO of Cey Digital

Going forward, another key part of this initiative will be to enable future startups in the Uva Wellassa area to gain access to foreign markets and access to investor funding and mentorships for startups and scaleup.
Nalaka Jayasekara speaking of this initiative said “ in an economically challenging period like this, we as the IT community can contribute to the country to overcome this by grooming young entrepreneurs to achieve their business dreams. Cheers to SLASSCOM who lead this mission”.

Dr. Dasuni Nawinna added “with a beaten-up economy, our motherland is currently facing a plethora of problems. In a tough time like this, empowering the youth towards entrepreneurship & innovation is critical. The University students in ICTs and the related fields can largely contribute towards making our country a better place not only by attracting dollar income but also by coming up with innovative solutions for social, economic, and governance issues. I’m sure the Entrepreneur Power-up session organized by the E&I forum of SLASSCOM held online on 24th May 2022 served as a platform for the university students and created the much-required inspiration. As a member of E&I forum and an Academic in the field of ICTs, Happy to be able to contribute to this timely requirement”

Nadun Wijetunga providing his insights stated “When I kicked off my startup journey 10 years ago, the general opinion I received was certainly not encouraging. Therefore, I would like to offer my gratitude towards SLASSCOM’s commendable effort to guide young entrepreneurs during Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis to pursue their dream of a start-up by giving us the opportunity to share our expertise & knowledge”
The event was partnered and supported by Corporate sponsor Dialog Enterprise, SLASSCOM E&I forum-organizers, IOI-Organizers and Startupsrilanka.lk