Hackathon to beat Sri Lanka’s corruption
Tim Draper, the billionaire US venture capitalist and the founding partner of Draper Goren Holm, an early-stage blockchain venture capital fund, earlier this week, suggested a hackathon for corruption to purge the continuous fraud in the country's economy.
He told journalists on Tuesday that it will be a good idea to have a hackathon for corruption by budding entrepreneurs to clear the corruption issues in the country.
In Sri Lanka, on account of the strategic partnership that start-up ecosystem builder Hatch entered into with Draper Startup House, a global network of spaces connected to resources for entrepreneurs Mr. Draper, acknowledging the beat-up economy in the country, said that the only way to go from here is up.
“You have been painted into a corner by the press. Repaint yourself.”
He added that the important questions to ask in attracting entrepreneurs is how to make their life really interesting and exciting. “You already have the beaches. It is important to bring in 5G technology and Bitcoin. Have artificial intelligence everywhere. Digitalise the country. That type of thinking will change everything.” He pointed out that El Salvador and Estonia are some examples of repositioning and rebranding countries that were down and out on the economic front.
Hatch shares a vision with Draper Startup House for Sri Lanka and has come on board to support Hatch’s “Sri Lanka: From Troubled Nation to Startup Nation” initiative which seeks to change the narrative that currently clouds the media. Both parties believe in the country’s immense future potential and hope to leverage the partnership to attract and retain high-quality talent while linking Sri Lankan start-ups to a global network of investors and enablers.
Mr. Draper engaged, with key stakeholders in government and the local start-up ecosystem during his visit, and had discussions focused on supporting founders and local start-ups as an integral catalyst of Sri Lanka’s economic recovery and future development. Furthermore, Draper will be filming an episode of his TV show “Meet the Drapers,” providing a platform for local entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas directly to Tim Draper in addition to achieving global exposure to over 9 million viewers worldwide.
A panel discussion titled “From Troubled Nation to Startup Nation,” alongside Sonia Hirdaramani and Mahela Jayawardene, moderated by Nathan Sivagananathan during his visit was prefaced by an introductory note by Jeevan Gnanam along the same theme.