Lilan Dayananda, a Sri Lankan entrepreneur, has earned a distinguished place on Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30 Asia” list in the social impact category. This list, now in its ninth edition, celebrates young innovators under 30 who are transforming their industries and creating forward-thinking solutions to navigate changing business landscapes. The Asia list is part of the broader Forbes 30 Under 30 franchise, which has been highlighting young achievers for over a decade.
As the co-founder and CEO of Elzian Agro, Dayananda has made significant strides in social entrepreneurship. His efforts were recognized at the Global-South Development Expo 2022, where he was named one of the top ten Youth Social Entrepreneurs by the United Nations Youth Envoy’s Office, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and UNDP Youth Co:Lab. Additionally, he received the Commonwealth Youth Award for excellence in development work in 2022. In 2023, Dayananda was honored as one of the top 100 meaningful business founders by Ernst & Young (EY), Hogan Lovells Global Law Firms, and Babson College, in collaboration with the Meaningful Business Community.
Lilan Dayananda graduated with a Business Management (Special) Degree from the University of Kelaniya and is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree at Wayamba University. He is an ALS Public Policy fellow at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago and an Anubhav fellow at the Indian School of Public Policy. Furthermore, he completed the Stanford Seed Spark Program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Since its inception in 2021, Elzian Agro, led by Dayananda, has focused on research and innovation, developing validated solutions for climate-smart, data-driven precision agriculture, regenerative agriculture, biodiversity restoration, analog forestry, and agroforestry. His goal is to provide sustainable solutions to improve food security comprehensively.
