Entrepreneur For The Year
ISHARA NANAYAKKARA
His journey is defined by scale, speed and a fearless appetite for expansion, underpinned by the instinct to recognise opportunity before the market sees it
He stands as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost entrepreneurs – a leader whose ascent mirrors the boldness and ambition we see and admire in global innovators. And rightly so, he’s the first choice for the accolade of Entrepreneur For The Year in LMD’s eagerly anticipated annual roll call of honour.
His journey is defined by scale, speed and a fearless appetite for expansion, underpinned by the instinct to recognise opportunity before the market sees it. Perhaps what distinguishes Ishara Nanayakkara from his peers is his unwavering belief that local enterprises can thrive on the world stage.
With total assets surpassing Rs. 2 trillion at the end of financial year 2024/25, LOLC Holdings has become one of Sri Lanka’s largest and most globally diversified conglomerates – a testament to his vision of foraying beyond borders as the group’s Executive Chairman.
Under his leadership, the organisation has grown into a multinational force spanning Asia, Australia and Africa. In South and Southeast Asia, the group’s footprint covers Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and India. And its Central Asian presence stretches across Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
His ability to anticipate and seize opportunities in unfamiliar geographies has turned some of the toughest periods in modern business into a springboard for accelerated growth. In Africa for example, the group operates in Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – expansion on a scale that few Sri Lankan corporates have achieved.
Nanayakkara is unafraid to enter frontier markets, restructure businesses or build long-term capacity even amid macroeconomic volatility, using turbulence to strengthen the LOLC Group’s global footprint.
Beyond scale, he is shaping the future: championing digital transformation, fintech innovation and technology driven financial inclusion in emerging markets. And his ambitions extend across all core pillars of the real economy.
In plantations, the highly diversified conglomerate commands one of the world’s most extensive footprints, following landmark acquisitions of Lipton’s tea estates in Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania, alongside earlier Finlays operations. In Sierra Leone, the group has built substantial sugarcane and bioethanol operations.
Complementary businesses across manufacturing, trading, leisure and renewable energy add to the group’s resilience and diversity.
Its leisure portfolios in Sri Lanka, Mauritius and the Maldives have performed strongly, while new ventures such as the Port City Marina and entry into new energy vehicles (NEV) reflect the fearless speed with which the group is evolving.
Nanayakkara’s leadership style is bold yet calculated – a blend of decisive action, analytical discipline, quiet confidence, and the courage to exit businesses if and when it is prudent to do so.
He represents a new chapter in Sri Lanka’s entrepreneurial passage: global in ambition, fearless in execution and transformative in impact.
