Ath Pavura is a television program broadcast in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, featuring

social entrepreneur Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, Startup company, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop, fund and implement solutions to social, cultural, or environmental issues. This concept may be applied to ...

s who pitch their business ideas to impact investors. Entrepreneurs must demonstrate a measurable social impact from their product or business to participate in the show. If the impact investors are impressed, they can choose to invest up to Rs. 5 million into the business. It is similar to

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 2012)Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank ...

. Ath Pavura is the first show of its kind, promoting social and environmental entrepreneurship and providing equity investments to allow businesses to grow both their financial and social impact.

History

Ath Pavura was co-founded by Chandula Abeywickrama and Eranda Ginige (who is also the show's host) in 2015. The show aired its first season in September 2017. Ath Pavura is currently in its second season. Season two began airing in September 2018 and is ongoing.

Investors

The impact investors on Ath Pavura are high net-worth individuals who are committed to investing in enterprises with a social and environmental impact while contributing their financial resources, time, and industry expertise. Investors on Ath Pavura are referred to as ‘Tuskers’ to signify the protective nature elephants have for their young in the wild. The investors are the adult tuskers, guiding and nurturing the ‘young’ entrepreneurs, as they develop their business.

Investments

On Ath Pavura, social and environmental entrepreneurs pitch to the panel of investors, to have their social enterprises funded. Social Enterprises are businesses that are solving social and environmental problems through creative business models, innovative products and services. If the social entrepreneur is successful in their pitch, entrepreneurs will receive an equity investment on the spot. To date over Rs. 36,000,000 has been given in investments.

Partners

The partnerships entered were in strategic in nature being in hand i hand with organizations that share the same ethos to develop social entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. Season 1 * Dialog *

Hatton National Bank Hatton National Bank PLC (commonly abbreviated as HNB) is a private bank in Sri Lanka with 255 branches and 825 ATMs. The bank traces its origin to 1888 when Hatton Bank commenced its operations in Hatton, Sri Lanka Hatton (, ) is a major to ...

* Horizon Campus * Wijeya Newspapers Ltd. Season 2 * Horizon Campus * Sampath Bank * Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation

Awards and recognition

In December 2018, Ath Pavura was recognized at the ZeroOne Digital Marketing Awards. Ath Pavura was honored with two awards: the Best Digital Integrated Campaign in the NGO category and the overall winner in the Best Digital Integrated Campaign category.

References

{{Reflist Sri Lankan television shows Business-related television series 2010s reality television series 2010s Sri Lankan television series