How Tech Became Sri Lanka’s Third-largest Export Earner | Chalinda Abeykoon - E744

Chalinda Abeykoon, managing partner of nVentures, traces the seven or eight ways he tried to solve startup funding in Sri Lanka, most of which failed. At the Brandix apparel accelerator, the products were good, but the startups lacked the enterprise sales skills to sell to brands like Nike and Lululemon. A diaspora equity crowdfunding platform raised about $1 million in 20 months before the Easter bombings, the pandemic and the economic crisis ended it. nVentures is a $2 million fund, with 70% of LP money from the diaspora, backing B2B fintech. He reports two exits, about 30% IRR and 1.8x TVPI. He argues early-stage support is an art, going from minus one to zero, and that founders grow by leaving their comfort zone for Singapore.

Chalinda Abeykoon is Managing Partner at nVentures, an early-stage VC fund investing in technology startups across South and Southeast Asia. His portfolio includes two global exits, including an acquisition by JPMorgan Chase.

Chalinda is a recipient of the Chevening Fellowship from the University of Oxford and an Australia Award from the University of Queensland.

Chalinda’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chalindaabeykoon/

nVentures: https://nventures.sg/

Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/chalinda-abeykoon-sri-lanka-venture-capital

BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia.

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00:00 Opening themes

02:20 Graduating into a hiring freeze

04:38 Childhood in Colombo

06:40 Teaching students to pitch

08:40 The Brandix accelerator

12:00 B2B strength, B2C bias

14:30 How nVentures began

17:50 Fund structure and results

20:00 From minus one to zero

23:00 Sri Lanka and Singapore

30:40 Losing his father young

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