A group of leading young experts from the Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector have collaborated to create Saviman, a platform which would allow non-profit organizations and social enterprises to ask for technological solutions in using ICT to take their projects to new heights.
From Left: Zone24x7 GM Dr. Sankalpa Gamwarige, Sustain Solutions Director Anoka Abeyratne, MicroImage CEO Harsha Purasinghe, Mission Trust Executive Committee Member Sharanya Sekaram and WSO2 VP of Delivery Samisa Abeysinghe,“Wouldn’t it be cool to have a platform where people can ask anything about technology related things, and t here’s a bunch of experts who know everything about technology who can start responding to that. How do we make that work?” MicroImage COO and Saviman Chief Developer Rohan Jayaweera questioned, explaining the idea behind Saviman.
Non-profits and social enterprises could visit Saviman to receive advice from 18 experts who are renowned not just in Sri Lanka, but across the globe, including Jayaweera, who was the previous Google representative for Sri Lanka, and MicroImage CEO and Eisenhower Fellow Harsha Purasinghe. The Saviman team is hoping that the pool of experts would grow quickly, as interested individuals could volunteer to be a part of Saviman easily by visiting the website.
The platform has proven its viability during limited testing, creating technological solutions for social enterprises such as Sarvodaya Fusion and the Good Market.Purasinghe said that emerging economies such as Sri Lanka has minimal presence of social enterprises compared to the West, and opined that the situation should ideally have been reversed.“We’ve got the technology, but don’t use it for social enterprise,” Cinergix CEO Chandika Jayasundara expressed disappointment as well.Well known personalities in the non-profit and social enterprise sectors such as Sustain Solutions Director Anoka Abeyratne and Unity Mission Trust Executive Committee Member Sharanya Sekaram gave testament to the unmet needs which will be met by Saviman.
“Tech is integrated in our lives. Any social enterprise or non-profit must use tech to reach more people,” Sekaram said.Purasinghe said that Saviman is envisioned to be globally scalable, and a repository of knowledge and an open forum would be implemented following successful expansion.
While the service would be free for non-profits and social enterprises, he said that services would be provided to corporates to conduct their CSR activities, in return for a subscription.“The money charged from the corporate will be used to give back to people and expand the platform,” Purasinghe said.
Saviman was developed as a result of the British Council’s FUTURES- Social Innovation Forum which was held last year.
By Chandeepa Wettasinghe
