John Keells wants to invest in you.
We’re offering seed funding of Rs. 2.5 million, our conglomerate’s connections, and follow up rounds of up to Rs. 50 million to accelerate your growth. We want to help you grow!
Why JKX?
Early Stage Investment
You get vital early stage investment from a blue-chip investor. Up to 7 teams will get a Rs. 2.5 million investment EACH, for 6.25% of their company and follow up rounds of up to Rs. 50 million.
Not bad for 6 months work!
Training And Support
Each team gets trained on the ‘Disciplined Entrepreneurship’ framework created by Bill Aulet, Managing Director of the Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship. Winners also get customized training focused on Growth and Scale, expert advice from Europe’s first growth hacking academy and mentorship from John Keells
Connections
You will have direct access to our Group’s businesses, employees and other connections. You could use our customers, channels, systems and data to test your MVP’s and iterate. Attracting customers, investors, and talent is much easier with Sri Lanka’s top conglomerate in your corner.
It’s also easier to explain to your parents 🙂
How it works
Apply
By February 6th, send a quick application and video to introduce your team and your idea. We’ll select around 30 teams.
Prepare To Pitch
Get trained on ‘Disciplined Entrepreneurship’ framework to get your product (MVP) and business model ready for Demo Day
Get Funded
Everyone pitches on Demo Day (June) and up to 7 teams win Rs. 2.5 million in seed capital, EACH.
Sky’s The Limit
JohnKeellsX will continue to support and grow with you along the way.
More Funding
Once your team is ready, you can get up to Rs. 50 million in follow-on funding.
Accelerate
Winning teams get office space, access to JKH companies, mentorship and training focused on growth from leading international trainers.
Experts
Marius Ursache
Founder & MIT Teaching fellow
Vlad Bodi
Growth Consultant / Mentor
Judges
Timeline
Phase I – March to June (2019)
Pre-Acceleration
Applications open on December 3rd. Send a brief description of your idea and a video of your team. If you apply early we will have more time to read your application, which gives you a better chance to be selected.
If you apply by the 6th of January (Midnight), we’ll give you feedback and you can re-apply based on that. Also, the first 60 applicants get invitations for an exclusive meetup (to meet the JKX team, judges, mentors and JKX alumni).
February 6th (Midnight) is the last day to submit your application. We hope to announce teams on a weekly basis after the Early Applicant Deadline, so if you apply early we have more time to read your application, which gives you a better chance to be selected.
Up to 30 teams will be selected and informed during the month of March. Get ready!
Connect with the JohnKeellsX mentors and advisors each Tuesday as you prepare for Demo Day.
Don’t get ahead of yourself young Jedi, train up first. We’ll guide you through the latest MIT support
Get hands on training from JKH corporate services on important aspects such as legal, finance, secretarial, HR, etc.
The big day! Pitch your startup to the panel of judges. Up to 7 teams will be selected for a seed round investment of Rs. 2.5 million each.
Phase II – June to December (2019)
JKX Accelerator
Get customized training from leading international trainers. You will get comprehensive training on Customer Development, Products and Road maps, Building and Managing Teams, Growth, Marketing, Sales, Business Model Selection, Unit Economics, Execution and Planning etc.
Funded teams get access to John Keells customers and channels to hit the ground running. Don’t underestimate how important your first customers are.
We’ll keep checking in with each company weekly, guiding and preparing them for the next steps in their journey.
Experts from Growth Tribe (Netherlands) will train the JohnKeellsX startups on creating and managing rapid growth.
The second big day! Each team gets a chance to present their companies and vision to the JKH board. There’s the potential to earn up to Rs. 50 million in follow-on investment.
Phase I – March to June (2019)
Pre-Acceleration
Applications open on December 3rd. Send a brief description of your idea and a video of your team. If you apply early we will have more time to read your application, which gives you a better chance to be selected.
If you apply by the 6th of January (Midnight), we’ll give you feedback and you can re-apply based on that. Also, the first 60 applicants get invitations for an exclusive meetup (to meet the JKX team, judges, mentors and JKX alumni).
February 6th (Midnight) is the last day to submit your application. We hope to announce teams on a weekly basis after the Early Applicant Deadline, so if you apply early we have more time to read your application, which gives you a better chance to be selected.
Up to 30 teams will be selected. Get ready!
Connect with the JohnKeellsX mentors and advisors each Tuesday as you prepare for Demo Day.
Don’t get ahead of yourself young Jedi, train up first. We’ll guide you through the latest MIT support
Get hands on training from JKH corporate services on important aspects such as legal, finance, secretarial, HR, etc.
The big day! Pitch your startup to the panel of judges. Up to 7 teams will be selected for a seed round investment of Rs. 2.5 million each.
Phase II – June to December (2019)
JKX Accelerator
Get customized training from leading international trainers. You will get comprehensive training on Customer Development, Products and Road maps, Building and Managing Teams, Growth, Marketing, Sales, Business Model Selection, Unit Economics, Execution and Planning etc.
Funded teams get access to John Keells customers and channels to hit the ground running. Don’t underestimate how important your first customers are.
We’ll keep checking in with each company weekly, guiding and preparing them for the next steps in their journey.
Experts from Growth Tribe (Netherlands) will train the JohnKeellsX startups on creating and managing rapid growth.
Each team gets a chance to present their companies and vision to the JKH board. There’s the potential to earn up to Rs. 50 million in follow-on investment.
Our Industries
Startups that focus on the following industries will have an added advantage. This is where the synergy between your startup and Keells will be the best. We are also open to startups that operate in other industries.
Testimonials
Kanishka Weeramunda
Founder/Director, DirectPay
“JKX Accelerator Programme provides a unique opportunity to be surrounded by other ambitious and inspiring entrepreneurs. DirectPay benefited from what is an atmospheric and energetic space, the collaboration and dedicated support which was critical to taking big steps forward to make the business…
Nuzhi Meyen
Founder/CEO, HeliosP2P
“We were fortunate enough to be selected for the John Keells X Accelerator as an idea stage startup and 6 months later we found ourselves growing fast with paying customers! We have been provided with access to mentors with industry knowledge as well as access to the finance and secretarial services at…
Miller Alexander
Founder/CEO, SenzAgro
“JKX is one of the best corporate accelerators for a Sri Lankan startup who wants to grow fast. The program provides support to overcome the many barriers an early stage startup could face such as finding that early adopter, dealing with clients in a formal way and especially to open up doors…
Niduksha Widisinghe
Founder/CEO, Greasemonkey
“John Keells Accelerator program has given us continuous support to grow our business. We also have access to industry experts who are also our mentors to get their valuable opinion on how best we could achieve our KPIs. We have been able to expand our business within a very short period of time!”
Our Partners
National Partner
Campaign Partner
Digital Media Partner
YouTube Partner
National Partner
Campaign Partner
Digital Media Partner
YouTube Partner
Latest Blog Posts
At these events, we learned a lot about what startups should and shouldn’t do. But that was only the opening act…
The John Keells X Open Innovation Challenge is a startup accelerator program run by the largest listed conglomerate in Sri Lanka John Keells Holdings…
The JKX Meet-Up
The JKx Meet-Up June 9, 2017 Thank you for everyone who attended the meet-up. If you missed it, you can watch the whole live-stream here: If…Latest News
The 5 startups that made it to the John Keells X Accelerator 2019
13 September 2019Sri Lanka’s first peer-to-peer lending platform Helios secures second round funding from JKH
2 August 201920 May 2019
An online shopping platform selling premium products. The product categories range from electronics to music and home audio, to gadgets, perfumes, smartphones, books, and fashion as well.
Gihan Cooray was appointed as an Executive Director of JKH in November 2016 and was appointed as Group Finance Director of JKH on January 1st 2018. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Nations Trust Bank PLC. Mr. Cooray holds an MBA from the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University, Houston, Texas. He is an Associate Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, a Certified Management Accountant of the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia and has a Diploma in Marketing from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, UK. He serves as a Member of the Sub-Committee on Economic, Fiscal and Policy Planning of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
Krishan Balendra was appointed as an Executive Director of JKH in November 2016 and was appointed as Deputy Chairman of JKH on January 1st 2018. He is also the Chairman of Nations Trust Bank PLC. He was previously the President of the Leisure and Retail Sectors at JKH. Mr. Balendra joined JKH in 2002 as Head of Corporate Finance after stints at UBS Warburg, Hong Kong in Investment Banking and Aitken Spence Sri Lanka in Corporate Finance. Mr. Balendra, a former Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange, holds a law degree (LLB) from the University of London and an MBA from INSEAD. He is also the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Poland in Sri Lanka in addition to being a Member of the Main Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
“Dumith is Chairman of Asia Securities Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, a leading independent Investment Bank in Sri Lanka which offers Investment Banking, Research, Stock Broking and Wealth Management services to international and domestic institutions, corporates and high net worth individuals. Dumith has two decades of experience in international Investment Banking based in New York and Hong Kong with JPMorgan Chase & Co. (from 1995 until 2007) and Credit Suisse AG (from 2007 until 2013). Until 2013, he was Managing Director and Group Chief Operating Officer for Credit Suisse Asia Pacific. He has worked in roles across Investment Banking, Equities, Venture Capital and Corporate Strategy. Dumith is a Non-Executive Director of the Colombo Stock Exchange, Union Assurance PLC, and Singer (Sri Lanka) PLC and a member of the Economic Policy Steering Committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. He also served as Chairman of Lankan Angel Network (LAN) Sri Lanka’s main angel investor organization. He holds a BA in Physics & Economics from Middlebury College in the U.S. and an MBA from Harvard Business School. “
Ajit Gunewardene is the Founder & CEO of Bluestone Capital Private Limited. He was the Deputy Chairman of John Keells Holdings PLC and has been a member of the Board for over 24 years. In addition to this he was the Chairman of Union Assurance PLC a leading life insurance provider in Sri Lanka. He is the Founder Chairman of Digital Mobility Solutions (PVT) Limited (Pick Me) – the leading ride hailing service provider in the Country. He is a member of the Board of SLINTEC, a company established for the development of nanotechnology in Sri Lanka under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology. He has also served as the Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange and Nations Trust Bank PLC. Ajit has a degree in Economics and brings over 36 years of management experience.
Ramesh presently leads the Digital and Technology strategy/execution for the John Keells Group, Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate in the Colombo Stock Exchange, as its Executive Vice President/ Group CIO whilst providing leadership for the Group’s IT Consultancy and Services’ Organization, John Keells IT as its CEO. He is a seasoned Digital cum Business Executive, Leader and Strategist, who has provided effective stewardship for many organizations, including premier, blue-chip, conglomerates, working in some of the most competitive markets in the technology industry. He has over 25 years of experience, with 15+ at the C-level, in Sri Lanka, USA and India with an operational footprint covering territories such as USA, Canada, UK, Nordics, Middle East, Australia and emerging markets. He holds to his credit a PhD (Management) from Keisei University, South Korea, MSc(Computer Science) with Phi Kappa Phi Honours from Rochester Institute of Technology, a MBA(General) from Postgraduate Institute of Management, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka; BSc.Eng.(Electronics & Telecommunications) with First class Honours from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka.
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I’m an entrepreneur with a tech background, but I have worked more on the business and product side thus it was natural that growth became my field of interest over time. I’m interested in how technology and automation improve business, impacts society and affects the world. I have founded 3 technology companies in both services and product, and have been consulting on growth, sales & marketing automation for various startups and organizations. I moved to South America in 2012 to reinvent myself and restart my own growth process in a new environment. I got involved as a mentor for several small and medium accelerators in the region as working with young entrepreneurs is a wonderful way to share know-how but also grow on a personal and professional level. Most of my time over the past 15 years has been spent in fintech, HR, and media but for the past 2 years, I have been involved in the beauty industry, focusing on the growth of BePretty, which has recently become Latin America’s largest marketplace for beauty services.
I’m a designer, entrepreneur, and former doctor. I’m interested in how Artificial Intelligence can disrupt and improve our experience with death and dying.
“We were fortunate enough to be selected for the John Keells X Accelerator as an idea stage startup and 6 months later we found ourselves growing fast with paying customers! We have been provided with access to mentors with industry knowledge as well as access to the finance and secretarial services at John Keells Holdings and most of all the office space based out of Crescat Boulevard. Much thanks to Wishanth and his team from JKX for supporting us on our journey ”
