<article>Startup Sri Lanka, an initiative by <a href="http://www.slasscom.lk/" target="_blank">SLASSCOM Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum</a>, has launched <a href="http://www.xeleration.xyz" target="_blank">Xeleration</a>, Sri Lanka’s first accelerator programme.</article>

Startup Sri Lanka, an initiative by <a href="http://www.slasscom.lk/" target="_blank">SLASSCOM Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum</a>, has launched <a href="http://www.xeleration.xyz" target="_blank">Xeleration</a>, Sri Lanka’s first accelerator programme.
As part of the startup exchange programme under this initiative, Startup Sri Lanka is partnering with <a href="http://dealstreeasia.com/tag/IIPL" target="_blank">Infocomm Investments Pte Ltd (IIPL)</a>, the investment subsidiary of the <a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/IDA" target="_blank">Infocomm Development Authority (IDA)</a> of Singapore.
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Xeleration is an initiative supported by a partnership of SLASSCOM, ICTA, Lanka Angel Network (LAN) and the <a href="http://www.ou.ac.lk/home/" target="_blank">Open University of Sri Lanka</a>, which maintains a dedicated space at its Colombo campus to host selected startups for acceleration.
The application process will run over the next 6 weeks to select the most promising startups to join the startup exchange programme in Singapore. 
This partnership with SLASSCOM, Sri Lanka, is the second strategic partnership established after the Barcelona Activa-IIPL partnership, announced earlier this month. The partnership will help provide startups with international market access opportunities, enabling entrepreneurs to take their ventures and products to the next stage of growth and expansion.
Targeting aspiring Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, the launch of the programme was announced at an event held by the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka.
<a href="https://lk.linkedin.com/in/ruwindhupeiris" target="_blank">Ruwindhu Peiris</a>, vice chairman and head of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum, said, &#8220;Xeleration accelerator programme is an effective platform to swiftly discover trends and business opportunities in exciting new markets.&#8221;
Piers elaborated: &#8220;The initiative was launched as a move to strengthen local start-ups to explore and access new markets, developing current company offerings, helping to overcome the cultural differences and the lack of both local connections and pave away access to the international market in order to take their product or service to the next level.&#8221;
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The startup exchange programme is an intensive four-week programme that helps Sri Lankan entrepreneurs identify trends and business opportunities in a new market, while navigating cultural and regulatory differences. Through Xeleration, five selected startups with regional and global growth potential will be able to participate.
Structured in collaboration with IIPL, it will grant startups an immersion and in-depth exposure to the Singapore startup ecosystem. Based at BASH, Singapore’s largest integrated startup space, it consolidates and enables a convergence of members of the technology building community from across the entire value chain.
Participating startup founders will be able to connect with key players in the local startup ecosystem, as well as tap  well as advice and mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and domain experts.
It will also enable these startups to gain in-depth exposure and build relationships with other entrepreneurs and investors, as well as expand their networks and allow them to capitalise on regional growth opportunities within Southeast Asia. This initiative is being launched amidst a <a href="https://www.techinasia.com/6-years-bloody-civil-war-sri-lanka-bets-startups-lures-investors/" target="_blank">growing wave of venture formation in Sri Lanka</a>.
Mentorship from Singaporean mentors, meetups with key players in the Singapore ecosystem, pitching to investors and potential partners, start-ups will be able to gain valuable insights into their product and thereby refine their product and business model.
<a href="http://dealstreetasia.com/tag/alex-lin" target="_blank">Dr Alex Lin</a>, head of IIPL, shared: &#8220;I&#8217;m pleased to partner with SLASSCOMM and Startup Sri Lanka to bring the acceleration model to Sri Lanka. An accelerator is a bootcamp-like training regime that shapes, scrubs and polishes start-ups to what they need to be in order to succeed.&#8221;
Lin added, &#8220;With IIPL’s exchange programme packaged into Xeleration, we look forward to quality start-ups with scalable and commercially viable products coming over to Singapore to access the ASEAN market.&#8221;
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IIPL has partnered with Startup Sri Lanka as part of the Xeleration initiative, an accelerator exchange programme for entrepreneurs

Singapore: IIPL, Startup Sri Lanka partner for Xeleration accelerator initiative

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