Page 5 - Final Newsletter

Key Initiatives

Giving a headstart to start ups
SLASSCOM partners with OIW Accelerate 2020 program

The Sri Lanka Association for Software Services Companies (SLASSCOM), under the patronage of the Royal
Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka is hosting the Oslo Innovation Week Accelerate 2020 (OIW Accelerate 2020)
– a competition to promote Sri Lankan tech start-ups through cash grants of Rs. 500,000 and international
exposure, at the Oslo Innovation Week 2020 (OIW 2020).

The competition aims to encourage and identify start-ups with innovative products and services that can help
fight COVID-19 and address social issues that may arise as a result of the pandemic. Each entrant must have
a product or service that has already been developed to at least a basic prototype stage and must directly
involve fighting COVID-19 or addressing social issues arising around it, while preferably aligning with at least
one of the UN17 Sustainable Development goals and focusing on one of five areas of expertise including
Ocean, Healthcare, Energy, FemTech, and Smart Cities.

SLASSCOM’s aim in partnering with this programme is to inspire Sri Lankan start-ups to solve the pressing
issues of the day through innovation and the use of digital technology.

SLASSCOM carried out an islander call out for IT startups to apply and a total number of 55 startups applied
from which SLASSCOM appointed 4 independent judges to select the top 6 startups from the list of 55.

Oslo Innovation Week 2020 will be a virtual event this year, increasing further accessibility and visibility of
the event. Partnering an initiative of this nature is directly in line with one of SLASSCOM’S key focus areas “
entrepreneurship and innovation”.

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