Four Hatch startups: ‘Hyperglade’, ‘Miris by Islandmom’, ‘True by Tina’ and ‘Feelo’ have received funding to take their businesses to the next level.
The most significant of these funding opportunities came from Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper who funded Hyperglade with USD 350,000.
At the start of this year, Hatch launched an initiative titled ‘Sri Lanka: From Troubled Nation to Startup Nation’ to highlight how Sri Lanka’s top entrepreneurial talent could pave the path to recovery.
The first part of this initiative saw Tim Draper, founder of the renowned Silicon Valley venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, visiting Hatch in Colombo to connect with its startups and provide them the chance to pitch their ideas to a global audience through his TV show, ‘Meet the Drapers’.
It did not take long for local talent to be recognised: Hyperglade, a Hatch community startup specialising in BlockChain and Web3 migration solutions, secured USD 350,000 in funding from Draper Associates.
Another of its notable programs in this area is AccelerateHER, implemented in partnership with the US Department of State. AccelerateHER is a bespoke female focused accelerator in Sri Lanka designed to help female founders grow their business. Alongside the AccelerateHER program, Hatch empowers female entrepreneurs through its gender smart fund HERCapital.
CEO and Co-founder of Hatch, Brindha Selvadurai-Gnanam said, “HERCapital aims to help women overcome the disproportionate challenges they face in running their businesses, thus mitigating gender inequalities in the startup ecosphere.”
As part of this effort two graduates from the AccelerateHER programme’s first cohort received funding recently from HERCapital enabling them to scale their businesses globally. Lack of an investment ecosystem for female entrepreneurs has meant only 25 percent of the country’s entrepreneurs are females. Despite females accounting for over 50 percent of the population. This milestone demonstrates that Hatch’s accelerator program and business advisory, truly fosters a more inclusive environment enabling more female entrepreneurs to contribute to economic development.
In working to enhance the startup ecosystem in Sri Lanka, Hatch is also home to some digital nomad entrepreneurs, one of whom is the founder of Feelo a startup that offers experiential packages. Founded just four months ago, the venture has acquired a sizable customer base and recordedd its first investor partnership just four months into business. Feelo’s Co-Founder and CEO - Ondrej Lang aims to build a Sri Lankan company that can disrupt the entire South Asian market.