YouthHack is a for-purpose organization helps high school and university students learn more about startups, technology and entrepreneurship. We hold 'startup challenges', 'code weekends' and 'skills bootcamps'. We also run a fellowship program that connects students with actual startups they can intern in. We hope to be able to create a global community of youth entrepreneurs that are solving the world's different problems using technology and entrepreneurship. We started out last 2014 in the Philippines. Since then, YouthHack has expanded to different countries to help empower youth around the world. Join us as we bring this global movement to our island nation, Sri Lanka!
YouthHack Sri Lanka is a community of change makers. We are Sri Lankan Youth with dreams of a better nation built by us for us. We are hipsters, hackers and hustlers that get shit done. We are building world changing companies to replace archaic and inefficient solutions to Sri Lanka’s and the world’s problems. We are the unrelenting gale that will learn and do anything that is required to get us there.
As promised, YouthHack Sri Lanka 2017 is not just one event. In the spirit of creating a community of young entrepreneurs in this nation, we are proud to announce the FreshStart Program this year.
Want to dive deeper into the Sri Lanka Startup Ecosystem?
Want to consolidate lessons learnt at the Startup Challenge?
Want to take your entrepreneurial skill set and network to the next stage?
The YouthHack Freshstart program is a month-long entrepreneurial immersion program for the uninitiated and inexperienced into the Sri Lanka startup scene and an opportunity to dive deep into concepts and lessons that differentiate the unicorns from the unicorpses.
2016 marked the successful completion of YouthHack Sri Lanka’s first ever event the Startup Challenge. The first weekend of August, saw the gathering of over a 100 Sri Lankan Youth at the MAS Innovation Center for an event unlike any before in the startup ecosystem of Sri Lanka. The Youth spent their weekend involved in workshops on topics such as Pitching 101, UX 101, Thinking Global and Bootstrapping led by disruptive Sri Lankan founders such as Chandika and Hiraash from Create.ly, Mike from Foodie Global, Sheran from Layup, Kanishka from Paymedia and Mahen from Katha(ShortKast). Participating youth went on to ideate and develop disruptive ideas before staying up overnight in order to prepare their ideas to pitch to an esteemed panel of judges the following day. Five teams went on to be recognized for their ideas and celebrated by all who attended with GuruPaara Compass crowned the ‘Winners of Startup Challenge 2016’
This year, in the spirit of Sri Lanka’s growing entrepreneurial ambitions, Startup Challenge 2017 sets its sights on ever higher goals. The Startup Challenge will bring in more youth, more ideas and present ever greater opportunities to get involved and learn about startups, entrepreneurship and technology. This year the challenge will include structured ideation, validation and iteration of your ideas and bring in teaching assistants to push you out of your comfort zone. We will also have preliminary judges to select the top 20 ideas. They will then go on to be mentored by the preliminary judges to pitch on stage to an audience of youth and a panel of top investors and founders in Sri Lanka. Given the previous success of the Startup Challenge 2016, YouthHack Sri Lanka aims to grow new initiatives and programs this year. Stay tuned.
Want to learn computer science but never had the time?
Signed up for an online course but never completed it?
Frustrated that you have ideas that you cannot build?
Never had the opportunity to learn cs?
YouthHack Sri Lanka is excited to announce a program unlike another. A complete youth led end to end introduction to computer science. Join like-minded youth in a 12 week sprint to immerse yourself in the world of coding and grapple with how it works. Work and build your first programs in a project led environment. Push boundaries and pick up the foundations to turn your ideas into reality.