Hatch hosts Sri Lanka’s first international start-up accelerator, Good Life X
Sri Lanka’s start-up culture is thriving at Hatch. Opened just over a year ago, Hatch’s 7-storey colonial building in the heart of Colombo is weaving in a unique culture and a breath of fresh air to the entrepreneurial landscape of the country. A partnership with iAccelerate signed this month and the Good Life Accelerator ( GLX) Programme, kicked off in August 2019 are the latest stories of this unique start-up culture nurtured at Hatch, a media release from Hatch said.
iAccelerate and Hatch will assist each other’s start-ups with a reciprocal “soft landing pad” programme which encourages start-ups seeking to enter regional markets to spend time building their businesses in Colombo or Wollongong.
GLX, housed at Hatch, is the first of its kind international accelerator programme in Sri Lanka designed and initiated by GIZ SME Sector Development Programme (on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development). The programme will assist local entrepreneurs with specific focus on areas of food, agriculture, wellness and travel, and green initiatives to go global, fostering economic growth in Sri Lanka. Through GLX, entrepreneurs receive the opportunity to access world class knowledge, expertise, collaboration and investment opportunities as well as funding. The accelerator helps entrepreneurs to take their start-up from early seedstage to A rounds, connecting them to mentors, buyers and investors. Five weeks into the programme, the seven qualifying start-ups are currently polishing up their pitches in preparation for the big demo day in November.
As part of an exchange programme of GLX, the start-ups will have the opportunity to showcase their products at the GLX pavilion during the Disrupt Asia conference this October to which a group of German experts will also be visiting.
“Start-ups and entrepreneurs don’t thrive in the status quo; they excel in an open innovation ecosystem. We’ve created that ecosystem at Hatch through both local and international partnerships, making way for tomorrow’s industry leaders and innovators to collaborate for success,” says Jeevan Gnanam, Co-founder of Hatch.
“This is exciting for us. Hatch is the result of many years of planning, and the success of this space is an excellent indication of how Sri Lanka’s start-up culture is growing. We’re hoping to nurture some great entrepreneurs through accelerator programmes like GLX,” Nathan Sivagananathan, Co- founder of Hatch added.
Start-ups based at Hatch don’t just benefit from the co-working space culture. They have access to a multitude of opportunities to connect, collaborate and grow. Industry forerunners like PWC, SLASSCOM, Lankan Angel Network, GIZ SME Sector Development Pro g ramme, Crowdisland and in-house legal services by D.L. and F. De Saram come together to help entrepreneurs take a calculated leap towards future growth.