Entrepreneurs receive intensive help from USAID, GLX

Ten entrepreneurs who received intensive help from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Good Life X (GLX) business accelerator to develop their climate adaptation ideas displayed their results in a Demo Day event on August 2.

This Demo Day marked the end of an eight-month program to help early-stage businesses grow into scalable and sustainable enterprises that can enhance the climate resilience of agriculture, fisheries, and tourism-associated livelihoods in Sri Lanka.

Climate smart innovations introduced at the live-streamed event included products to better preserve food, solar charging kits, energy efficient tea dryers, urban farming models, and seaweed-based organic fertilizer among others. The businesses were coached by experts in innovation, business, climate change, agriculture and tourism through a Climate Change Accelerator activity of GLX and USAID’s Climate Change Adaptation project.

“It is inspirational to think that one of the greatest challenges facing our world also presents some of the best business opportunities,” said United States Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Douglas Sonnek, who addressed the event. “I am impressed with the leadership these enterprises have shown in tackling climate change.”

Randhula de Silva, Founder CEO of GLX noted the importance of applying the innovations of entrepreneurs to tackling climate change adaptation.

“Climate change, whether we like it or not, is real,” she said. “This program was tailored to bring climate adaptation into the hands of entrepreneurs, so that our communities and ecosystems stand resilient and thriving amidst the changes.”

The 10 showcased businesses and their innovations were:

1. Food Things, an enterprise that is engaged in preservation of food products 2. Kulumoto, the eco-transport enterprise with a prototype solar charging kit that offers a zero-carbon footprint solution to potential buyers 3. Saruketha Organics, which produces homemade organic forest tea with a few small-scale tea growers 4. Ceylon Green and Aqua, with an urban farming model that combines aquaponics and integrated outdoor farming methods 5. Carbon Blueprint, a new seaweed cultivation plan with an expanded value addition process for cultivated seaweed to manufacture liquid organic fertilizers for vegetables 6. Tourmate.lk (re-branded as Eco Escape- Galle), an eco-tourism venture which uses electric motor-powered boats at Keppu Ela (river) to facilitate tours with near zero environmental footprint; 7 Inova and bio-char production business 8. Therapy Ceylon, a business of producing infused tea using native herbs, spices and flowers; 9. Iluktenne Plant Nursery, which produces plants and seeds of export crops 10 The Raawana Agro Limited which is educating rural farmers on polytunnel greenhouses and other climate-smart technologies.