Business

Sri Lanka’s Niftron raises Rs. 21 million capital from LAN’s Angel Fund

Published

5 years ago

2021/04/21

The Angel Fund has announced a Rs. 10 million investment in Niftron, a blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform that aims to make blockchain simpler and more affordable for businesses at all levels and industries. The Angel Fund was established by the Lanka Angel Network (LAN) with the support of ecosystem development partner Ford Foundation and aims to catalyze the growth of Sri Lanka’s startup ecosystem.

Niftron is one of the first investments made by the Angel Fund since its launch last year. Additionally, Niftron has raised a further Rs. 11 million from Angel Fund investors based out of Singapore, Sri Lanka, UK and USA.

A LAN press release said: Niftron’s platform is especially innovative since it allows anyone to integrate blockchain with their products or projects easily and efficiently to improve trust by providing transparency, security, and ownership. The platform was developed to ensure ease of use, even for those without a complete knowledge of blockchain.

According to Co-Founder and CEO of Niftron, Sharmilan Somasundaram, the company was created to bridge the existing lack of client-side blockchain expertise, which often results in a too long and costly learning curve for companies. Via Niftron’s pay-as-you-go model, companies circumvent additional costs and delays and can integrate easily into any existing or new project/product without changing their own process/flow. Niftron provides all the services that are needed for any type of blockchain project, from secure components for signatures and login, to services to add data, and APIs to access and verify data.

“Based on customer feedback, and analysis, we have found that Niftron reduces blockchain integration and development time by up to 80%, while cost reduction can be as high as 70%. In fact, the whole development with Niftron takes just a few weeks for large enterprise applications to only a few days or less for a small project, which makes business transformation very fast,” said Mr. Somasundaram.

Since its beta release, Niftron has attracted local and international customers, including clients who are developing blockchain-based certificates and document verifications, using the platform for domain name issuing, loyalty points and gift cards, and even nonprofit fundraising and traceability apps. Niftron has also been recognised by X-Hub Tokyo’s Global Startup Accelerator Inbound Programme 2021, Deloitte Japan, as well as Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Technology and Information and Communication Technology Agency (e-Swabhimani Awards).

The Rs. 100 million Angel Fund comprises 100 angel investors, including many high-profile entrepreneurs and corporate leaders, who represent close to 30 industries with proven competencies in over 40 functional domains, along with 20% of its investment from members based out of Canada, Dubai, Hong Kong, Qatar, Singapore, UK, and USA.

LAN Angel Investor, and Founding Partner of Hyperion Ventures, Navid Munas said, “We at Hyperion Ventures are excited at the prospect of working closely with founder-centric companies who are passionate, creative, and dedicated to executing their vision. With the team at Niftron and their BaaS platform, we feel they have the talent and skillset to explore the arena of DeFi and smart contracts which whilst in its infancy now is set to boom into the future. As an industry-agnostic VC, we look forward to the ideas and businesses presented by the next cohort of startups.”

The Angel Fund hosts a quarterly open call for early-stage startups looking for investment. The Investment Committee will be selecting the best startups from the currently-running Cohort 2 on April 28, 2021.

Subsequently, all 100 investors will be meeting virtually on May 4, 2021, to meet the top startups. Cohort 2 includes startups from Fintech, Edtech and, for the first time, Femtech. Applications are currently open for Cohort 3 and will close on April 30, 2021.

Adding to this, LAN Angel Investor, and Director of CeylonAuctions.com, Dr. Rohitha de Silva said, “Scarcity drives value, especially with Blockchain. I’m pleased this journey brought me back home to Sri Lanka. I’m excited to be part of the Angel Fund and looking forward to the next cohort of startups.”

The Rs. 100 million Angel Fund has plans to eventually invest in six to 10 high potential startups in total, gearing them up to scale domestically, and even internationally. It is managed by LAN’s fund management team, which continues to identify and evaluate opportunities for investment across the island, including in traditionally underserved regions. The fund is dedicated to investing in, and mentoring and supporting, early-stage startups across multiple sectors; from making investments at the early stages, to even helping startups identify sources for future funding.

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Business

HNB Finance strengthens Board with four independent directors

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/13

Thilina Walpola

Newly appointed HNB FINANCE PLC Independent Non- Executive Directors (from left): Renuke Wijayawardhane, Shanti Gnanapragasam, Nabiha Mohamed and Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi

HNB FINANCE PLC has strengthened its Board with the appointment of four Independent Non-Executive Directors, effective September 8, 2026.

The new directors are Renuke Wijayawardhane, Shanti Gnanapragasam, Nabiha Mohamed and Dr. Thisuri Wanniarachchi, who collectively bring extensive experience in financial regulation, banking, risk management, corporate finance, investment strategy, development finance and public policy.

Wijayawardhane, an Attorney-at-Law and capital market professional, retired in July 2025 as Chief Regulatory Officer of the Colombo Stock Exchange after more than 31 years with the Exchange. His experience covers securities regulation, corporate governance, market infrastructure and compliance.

Gnanapragasam has over four decades of banking experience spanning treasury, risk management, credit and trade finance. She currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Cargills Bank, Wealth Trust and Vision Fund Lanka.

Mohamed is a corporate finance and investment professional who previously served as Lead Transaction Advisor at the State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance, where she led five divestiture transactions worth over US$600 million.

Dr. Wanniarachchi brings over a decade of experience in development finance, institutional reform and social protection, including work with the World Bank and the Government of Sri Lanka.

Business

Prime Residencies hands over The Palace Gampaha

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/13

Thilina Walpola

Prime Group Chairman Premalal Brahmanage speaking at the event

Prime Lands Residencies PLC has completed and officially handed over The Palace Gampaha, described as the largest planned gated residential community in Gampaha, to its homeowners.

The development, which commenced construction in 2021, is located two kilometres from Gampaha town and 100 metres from the Colombo-Kandy main road.

Spread across 13.5 acres, The Palace Gampaha comprises 480 two- and three-bedroom apartments in a ground-plus-three-floor development, with prices starting from Rs. 27.5 million.

The project allocates about 80% of its land to landscaped areas and common facilities, while the remaining 20% is used for apartment development. Facilities include a swimming pool, gymnasium, clubhouse, library, community kitchen, laundry, mini-mart and a daycare centre managed by the Lyceum Group.

The fully gated community also incorporates solar power for common areas, underground electricity cabling and a sewage treatment plant with water recycling facilities.

Prime Residencies said all statutory approvals required for the handover had been secured, including certifications from the Condominium Management Authority and registration of the Condominium Plan and Deed of Declaration.

Prime Group Chairman Premalal Brahmanage said the project reflected the company’s vision of creating large-scale residential communities designed to enhance the quality of life of Sri Lankan families.

The project is the latest addition to Prime Group’s portfolio of more than 70 gated community and apartment developments.

Business

SLANA warns NVOCC business losing ground amid THC concerns

Published

2 hours ago

2026/09/13

Thilina Walpola

SLANA Chairperson Swabha Wickramasinghe presenting a memento to Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilaka at the eventually

Sri Lanka’s Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier (NVOCC) sector is losing ground despite the expansion of the industry in several regional markets, Sri Lanka Association of NVOCC Agents (SLANA) Chairperson Swabha Wickramasinghe said.

Wickramasinghe, re-elected for a third consecutive term at SLANA’s ninth Annual General Meeting last week said the continued difficulty in collecting Colombo Terminal Handling Charges (THC) as a separate land-based cost was among the key challenges facing the industry.

She said the practice placed Sri Lanka at a competitive disadvantage as principals consider the overall economics of operating through Colombo.

“When Sri Lanka becomes less commercially attractive compared with other regional destinations, the consequences eventually reach our members,” she said.

Wickramasinghe said a committee had been proposed at a recent meeting with the Minister and Deputy Minister to evaluate the THC issue, urging the authorities to expedite its appointment and review.

She also called for an early solution to the problem of uncleared salt containers at the Port of Colombo, which has resulted in delays in releasing empty containers.

With more than 75 NVOCC lines operating in Sri Lanka, she stressed the sector’s importance to regional trade, particularly links with India and China.

Ports Minister Anura Karunathilaka said Sri Lanka should expand regional business while exploring areas such as bunkering, freight forwarding and e-commerce logistics.