Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) partners with Softlogic Life to introduce Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) to boost young Sri Lankan entrepreneurs

Colombo:The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Sri Lanka recently entered into a partnership with Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing life insurer, Softlogic Life, to launch the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA)in an effort to inspire and ignite a culture of entrepreneurship among students and young people in Sri Lanka. GSEA is the premier global competition for students who own and operate a business while attending college or university. Founded in 1998 by Saint Louis University, GSEA is now an Entrepreneurs’ Organization programme. EO GSEA supports student entrepreneurs who seek global exposure, recognition and connections to take their businesses to the next level of success.

Commenting further, Revantha Devasurendra, EO Sri Lanka President said: “EO Sri Lanka and GSEA were launched with a commitment to strengthen our immaculate home-grown entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over the years, it has been truly inspiring to witness the grit and determination of young entrepreneurs who are working towards scaling innovative solutions that aim to shift paradigms and create real value in society. We believe our partnership with an institution such as Softlogic Life, that has always been at the helm of supporting immense growth in Sri Lanka will help us take this venture a step further, particularly at a time such as this when entrepreneurship must be supported to catalyze overall economic growth and resilience.”

In the new normal, where startups are playing an increasingly impactful role in the development and prosperity of communities and the country, this partnership aims to uplift the lives of all Sri Lankans by discovering and nurturing the dreams and innovations of promising young entrepreneurs across the island.

Building an entrepreneurial platform in Sri Lanka is critical to grow entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. The percentage of entrepreneurs in the country is low and much more needs to be done to make conditions conducive for entrepreneurs along with access to finance, technical and marketing knowhow and the necessary support from the government and the industry. The aim of EO Sri Lanka is to fuel budding entrepreneurs so that they go on to establish businesses and scale up.

EO Sri Lanka encourages young entrepreneurs to participate in GSEA if they are eligible by signing up on https://gsea.org. Nominees will compete against their peers from around the world in a series of local and/or national competitions to qualify for GSEA Finals.

About Entrepreneurs’ Organization

Led by a vision to build the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization or EO, is a high-quality support network of 14,000+ like-minded leaders across 61 countries. Lauded for being “the ultimate toolbox for entrepreneurs” by none other than Forbes magazine, EO has been helping entrepreneurs achieve transformational growth since 1987 through the power of life-enhancing connections, shared experiences and collaborative learning. Worldwide, EO’s member base is clocking median sales of US$5M and counts 14,000+members having 4.1M+ employees across 198 chapters, located in 62 countries. EO also has a vibrant Sri Lanka chapter as well, which was established in 2017, and now counts 34 members with five forums recording median sales of US$5 Mn. Every member is a Sri Lankan CEO running a successful business.