The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is investing $2.5m in Sri Lanka-based ride-hailing company PickMe, whose taxi app allows users to request auto rickshaws and luxury cars.
Amena Arif, IFC country manager for Sri Lanka and Maldives, says the country has the potential for a digital start-up ecosystem but has been held back by a lack of global funding.
IFC says only 5% of start-ups get cash-for-equity seed funding to raise their first significant round of venture capital.
IFC’s venture capital group invests in growing companies that offer technologies or disruptive business models focused on emerging markets.
