Takas.lk, Busbookings.lk and Saaraketha were among the Sri Lankan companies selected to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) representing the groundbreaking work that they are doing in technology and organic farming.
1,200 investors and entrepreneurs from across the world attended the summit that took place from June 3rd to the 6th at The Hague, Netherlands. This was the 9th summit being held for the first time in Europe, jointly organised by The Government of the United States of America and the Government of Netherlands.
Ms. Charitha Abeyratne represented Saaraketha, an organic for produce establishment, as the Founder and Chief Executive. Mr. Dinusha Kornkaduwa is the Chief Operating Officer of Express 418, a company working with Government and private organizations to disrupt the current model of public transport in Sri Lanka by improving bus travel and comfort through an online platform ‘Busbooking.lk’. Mr. Lahiru Pathmalal is the CEO and co-founder of Takas.lk, one of Sri Lanka’s leading ecommerce and technology companies.
The summit was attended by Queen Maxima (Netherlands) and senior Government officials such as Mark Rutte (Netherlands), Micheal Pompeo (USA) and Ajay Banga (Mastercard), Dr. Chang-Gyu Hwang (Korea Telecom) and Caolyn Rodz representing the private sector.
The event made some global headlines for in terms of the events and discussions. Senior executives from global companies held a meeting with Pompeo and Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The aim was to strengthen mutual trade relationships and to discuss current issues.
At the event Pompeo also called on American allies to back its trade war against China. “We’ve been clear: our ask is that our allies and our partners and our friends don’t do anything that would endanger our shared security interests or restrict our ability to share sensitive information,” in relation to risks posed by Chinese telecommunication company Huawei.
In relation to Sri Lankan companies that were represented, Lahiru Pathmalal (CEO and co founder of Takas.lk) stated. “ It was a fantastic opportunity for Takas to showcase our SaaS product to the world. The reception was quite amazing, as we could essentially validate the product among the world’s best start-ups and companies. It showed that Sri Lankans are capable of building technology products which can stand against the very best in the world.”
Ms. Charitha Abeyratne (Founder of Saraii Village) stated, “Being a part of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit was an excellent opportunity to network with likeminded entrepreneurs, who face similar challenges in a global marketplace and it was also a perfect platform to be inspired and to reignite my passion for socially sustainable businesses”.
Mr. Dinusha Kornkaduwa (Express 418) stated, “What I enjoy most was meeting like minded individuals who wanted to make the world a better place. It validated the work we do in Sri Lanka in making life of thousands of people easier through our platform.”