A council for start-ups under the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) was launched yesterday at the Hatch Co-Working space. The council will look to assist start-up ventures in securing market access andinitial financing.
The council will initially advocate for thecreation of a tax structure that takes into account the high likelihood of making a loss when investing in start-up ventures. The council is of the view that lawsshould be amended to help form limited liability partnerships in the technologysector. They also feel that for the purpose of taxation, profit in one venturecan be off-set against losses in another venture.
The council is open to any business thatlooks to innovate, grow quickly, and go global. Membership will provide access tonetworking within the CCC but will not extend to membership in the mainorganisation. The board consists of individuals withleadership experience at technology ventures that have been successfuloverseas.
With over 146,000 IT professionals in the country there is an ableworkforce that can create new ventures. Prageeth Balasubramaniam Co-Founder BOV Capital noted that in India the government had made the effort to invest instart-ups. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at the launch of an Indian start-up support infrastructure and the government has pledged over US$10 million in assistance.
Balasubramaniam noted that with realinterest rates being so low there was much scope for investment in start-upventures.
Balasubramaniam will act as the chairman of the council. Other committee members include Heminda Jayaweera (CEO, SLINTEC), Imal Kalutotage (CEO, nCinga), AchalaSamaradivakara (Co-Founder & Managing Director, Good Market), ShalinBalasuriya (Co-Founder, Spa Ceylon), Indika Kudagamage (Assistant VicePresident, National Development Bank PLC), and Chandula Abeywickrama (Founderand Chairman, Lanka Impact-Investment Network) and Yasura Samarakoon (Manager-Business and Trade Promotion, The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce).
The Council will provideprofessional BDS services such as business registration, legal, finance andother related support services. A statement by the Ceylon Chamber notes; Offering a highly influential and knowledgeable advantage, the CCC provides thecumulative support of 600 members to promote business opportunities forstartups.
These alliances (20 Global Chambers, 38 Trade, Product and Service Associations and 21 Bilateral Business Councils) position the Chamber in an ideal positionto promote business opportunities.
0 comments: