Two Sri Lankans were invited to attend Prarambh, India’s Startup International Summit held virtually on the 15th and 16th of January, 2021. Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Namal Rajapaksa and CEO and founder of PickMe Jiffry Zulfer. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in attendance.
The Prarambh summit brought together some of the world’s top minds onto a single platform, enabling government and international organizations to share views that would encourage and empower young innovators and entrepreneurs.
PickMe was recognised as a successful Sri Lankan startup which has expanded into a well-established organisation, and its founder CEO ZulferJiffry was allowed to speak with PM Modi, and discuss Sri Lanka’s start-up culture. The ride-sharing startup, which has now expanded to offer food and groceries, has proven to be a successful, responsible organisation, which came through for the country in providing all island services during the pandemic lockdowns. Zulfer says the summit opened up new thought processes and ideas as some of the best startup innovations were showcased during the multilateral sessions.
Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Namal Rajapaksa took to Twitter, expressing his appreciation at being invited to attend, and extended his congratulations to the PickMe CEO on being selected as a panellist. The Minister tweeted, “cultivating youth entrepreneurship through a Startup EcoSystem is the key to unlocking the massive economic potential of Sri Lanka.”
Speaking of Sri Lanka’s startup culture the CEO of PickMe says, “India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world. Given our size, we don’t have to play catchup but it is a fact that Sri Lanka’s startup culture needs to take a more serious positioning. The government has recognised this, given all the initiatives taken to ensure digital adaptability. Going forward, this will no doubt create a healthy environment.”
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