7 promising Sri Lankan startups graduate from Sri Lanka’s first virtual fintech accelerator

HatchX, Sri Lanka’s first fintech startup accelerator programme, recently concluded its demo day with its first cohort of 7 promising local fintech startups graduating from the programme and getting connected with several industry stakeholders. The goal of HatchX is to help local fintech startups find success by offering them the necessary support to grow and expand their businesses beyond Sri Lanka. The seven startups accepted were DirectPay, Smart Insure, Fipbox.com, HeliosP2P, iLoan, Algoredge, and OGO Pay.

The startups were selected based on their business maturity, positive traction and each of their abilities to be a viable business both commercially and as an investment potential. HatchX offered an intensive 4-month curriculum geared towards three primary components of business support, education, and investor-readiness through a programme structure, curriculum, and advisory platform specifically designed by Programme Director of HatchX, Nio Liyanage.

Reflecting on the success of HatchX, Programme Director Nio Liyanage said, “A programme like this had never been conducted before. We expected many challenges in the early days. But we were able to quickly adapt the programme to operate in a virtual environment utilising digital platforms like Zoom. Furthermore, there was a strong buy-in from the enthusiastic founders accepted who clearly saw the value of HatchX. With their support and of industry stakeholders, we were able to successfully conduct South Asia’s 1st virtual accelerator.”

At the formal conclusion of the demo day, the 7 startups showcased their potential in front of the investors and industry stakeholders. It also offered the startups accepted a chance to network with stakeholders and form connections that could create new opportunities to collaborate.

Describing how Hatch would continue to support these startups, Programme Manager Sanchitha Silva said, “While the formal programme has ended, the 7 startups accepted into the HatchX programme are also members of the wider Hatch community. Currently, we’ve offered them long-term mentoring support from industry experts to help them scale.

Hatch is a platform that empowers the transformation of ideas into commercially viable companies.