Hatch, Lankan Angel Network and BOV Capital join forces, with First Capital Holdings PLC committing LKR 300 million as anchor limited partner in a fund built on a commercial investment case.
Starting a business is difficult. Building one that can grow, compete and endure is harder still.
For Sri Lankan founders, the challenge doesn’t end when they prove their idea works. The next stage demands stronger operations, access to new markets and the capital to pursue opportunities that could transform a promising venture into a sustainable business.
A new initiative aims to help more founders take that next step.
Hatch, Lankan Angel Network (LAN) and BOV Capital have launched HLAB, a collective LKR 3 billion fund designed to back early and growth stage regional companies that are incorporated in Sri Lanka. Announced at the final event of First Capital Startup Nation, organised by Hatch, the initiative brings together three established participants in the country’s startup ecosystem around a shared ambition: expanding access to capital for businesses seeking to grow.
Adding institutional participation to the initiative, First Capital Holdings PLC has committed LKR 300 million as the fund’s anchor limited partner, representing 10% of its total size.
From promising startups to enduring businesses
The transition from an early stage venture to a sustainable, growing company is a defining point in a founder’s journey. Businesses must move beyond establishing their models and begin building the operational strength and market reach needed to pursue larger opportunities.
HLAB is designed to support companies at these early and growth stages, with a focus on locally incorporated businesses. By improving access to growth capital, the fund aims to help founders develop their operations, expand their reach and pursue new markets.
The collaboration brings together Hatch, LAN and BOV Capital in a collective effort to support entrepreneurs building and scaling businesses from Sri Lanka. First Capital’s anchor commitment adds a further dimension to that effort, bringing an institutional investor into a fund focused on the country’s entrepreneurial businesses.
Building an ecosystem where founders can grow
For Hatch Cofounder Jeevan Gnanam, the launch speaks to a broader challenge facing Sri Lanka: creating the conditions for entrepreneurs not only to start businesses, but to build companies capable of lasting growth.
“A startup ecosystem isn’t measured only by how many businesses get started. It’s also measured by how many have the opportunity to grow into sustainable companies that create lasting value. Sri Lanka has ambitious founders, and we need to keep building the environment that helps them turn that ambition into reality. HLAB is a step in that direction, bringing together capital and the experience of key ecosystem players to help more businesses move forward. We want to see more companies built in Sri Lanka that can grow, compete and create value well beyond our shores.”
A track record of exits
For BOV Capital Managing Partner Prajeeth Balasubramaniam, whose firm is the fund manager, HLAB is as much an investment proposition as an ecosystem initiative.
“The investment case for Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem is proven by exits, and that is the record we bring to HLAB. Across BOV Capital’s first two funds we have delivered exits both regionally and at home: nCinga was sold to Zilingo of Singapore in 2019, and Insureme.lk listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange in December 2025, with partial exits in Roar Global and iFinity along the way. We built these businesses through the Easter attacks, COVID and the 2022 crisis, and Fund II is on course to return investors’ capital with a profit. We plan to repeat that record, or better it, in HLAB and the funds that follow. Backing Sri Lankan founders also contributes immensely to the economy, especially now that the government is backing startups through its Digital Strategy 2030.”
Turning ambition into opportunity
HLAB represents a collaborative effort to strengthen access to growth capital for businesses incorporated in Sri Lanka. Its launch brings together a LKR 3 billion fund, three startup ecosystem organisations and a LKR 300 million anchor commitment from First Capital Holdings PLC.
For Sri Lanka, the larger opportunity is to help promising businesses progress beyond their beginnings developing the strength to grow, reach new markets and contribute to the country’s economic future.
The ambition is clear: give more Sri Lankan founders the opportunity to build businesses that last.
ENDS
Photo Caption- Launch of HLAB