Expolanka Holdings is a diverse conglomerate of companies that is headquartered in Sri Lanka and operates on a global scale. The corporation excels in a wide variety of industries including logistics, leisure and investment enterprises, to name a few. The business is a market leader in the industries that it serves because of its global outlook and long-term growth strategy, both of which demonstrate a willingness to challenge the status quo. This is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of Expolanka.

Q: Expolanka Holdings places immense emphasis on sustainability strategies… How important it is to ensure sustainable value creation?
A: Sustainability is very much a part of the DNA of Expolanka. It is a critical component of our business – even more so as Expolanka is a global organisation dealing with leading international brands.

Hanif Yusoof
Group CEO

Sustainability addresses our commitment to the environment and how we integrate it into our business. Our green logistics initiatives aim to minimise our carbon footprint and are part of a journey to operate as a carbon neutral company.

We have implemented ‘Global Goodness,’ adopting the UN Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) across our network. One of our projects in Sri Lanka – ‘Revive Bundala’ – aims to restore 600 acres of the eponymous forest reserve.

For women’s empowerment, Expolanka partnered with the Sarvodaya movement to empower females from the micro, small and medium enterprise sectors.

These are some of the key projects related to our business, operations, community and values as an organisation, and are directly linked to creating long-term sustainable value.

Q: How important is the role of corporates in steering the country’s economy during an economic crisis?
A: The private sector drives industry and commerce. It employs many, ensures international trade and is also the government’s primary source of revenue – playing a critical role in ensuring that the economy operates in trying conditions as we see today.

The private sector also contributes to generating valuable foreign currency – both in terms of trade and by providing avenues through foreign direct investment (FDI) programmes and projects that it embarks on. It also plays a crucial role in formulating policy decisions for the economy, which will help pave the way to long-term sustainable success.

A good balance and close relationship with the private sector are essential in driving growth and development to guide the economy through trying times.

QUICK-FIRE ROUND

Three recommendations to revive Sri Lanka’s economy
Building a solid governance framework to ensure integrity and responsibility.
A cohesive policy framework aimed at strengthening FDIs.
Concentrate on select industries to drive growth and build competencies in these sectors.

Three most admired global business leaders
Steve Jobs
Jack Ma
Jeff Bezos

Q: How does your organisation view the concept of ‘responsible business’ during these trying times?
A: Whilst the world experienced a great resignation, we were glad to see our organisation be a part of great retention. One of the reasons we commenced the ‘Project Empower’ initiative was in response to the hardships faced by many vulnerable women entrepreneurs in the country.

Expolanka puts the safety of its employees at the forefront by developing policies and investing resources, time and effort to ensure safe working conditions, placing emphasis on care for our employees and looking after them when they’re affected.

Therefore, a responsible business will lead by example and adopt practices that would ensure the wellbeing of the society in which it operates.

Q: Innovation is the name of the game, particularly in the post-pandemic era. How is this reflected in your business?
A: The same applies to us across the four sectors we operate in and more so is applicable in the logistics sector as that’s the global business.

This is reflected in adapting to working from home (WFH); looking for customer engagement initiatives; adopting new business models to tackle supply chain challenges; investing in and expanding related business lines to meet customer expectations in our key markets; and developing technology capabilities to drive efficient to lean operations.

The post-pandemic era has expedited some of the key strategies that we as an organisation were working on. I believe our ability to adopt these changes fast was one of our key success factors.

The objective of Expolanka has remained unchanged: to generate long-term value by means of a strategy that is hyper-focused, relentless and consistent. In spite of the fact that the preceding years had been fraught with challenges, the organisation has been of service to society by successfully upholding its social responsibility to the community that it serves. This has been accomplished by maintaining its innate resilience and fortitude.