Sysco LABS wins ICT Sectoral Award at Presidential Export Awards
Sysco LABS was awarded the Merit certificate in the ICT Sector of the Sectoral Awards category at the 23rd annual Presidential Export Awards.
The ceremony held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo on September 19, 2019, was presided over by President Maithripala Sirisena.
The award selection, made by a panel of judges appointed by the Export Development Board (EDB), recognised outstanding exporters for their work in the 2018/19 financial year.
Initiated in the year 1981 by the EDB, the Presidential Export Awards is considered the highest form of recognition for exporters in Sri Lanka and recognises those who have made significant contributions towards the country’s exports.
Sysco LABS was considered for the award based on the significant impact it has made in the year of review towards the economy in promoting ICT sector led exports. Since becoming Sysco LABS via the acquisition of CAKE by the Fortune 60 company Sysco, it has expanded its engineering from the restaurant technology suite to e-commerce, logistics, analytics, supply chain management, cloud pricing and much more across the massive and diverse food-service industry; influencing the technology that makes Sysco’s US$60 billion business possible.
Sysco LABS Sri Lanka Co-founder and Managing Director Shanil Fernando said: “We are honoured to be recognised for our work by such a prestigious body on a national level. Our company is a young company, but the fact that in our little over 10 years of operation we have been able to achieve this level of growth is a testament to the level of engineering and innovation that is possible in Sri Lanka. From a start up a few years back to be recognised amongst the giants in the corporate world in Sri Lanka is an absolute privilege. We believed in it and have invested in developing it, and we are so proud of how rewarding the journey has been.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama thanked all exporters for their contribution to national revenue and for being resilient through this past challenging year.
He elaborated on a number of policies, projects and investment opportunities pursued by the government which reiterates its commitment to the empowerment of exports, and he went on to urge the private sector to work on creating an ecosystem where developing new products and services, and creating new companies will be easier, encouraging them to avoid operating in silos.
Commenting on the future of the company, Shanil said: “We have always believed that Sri Lanka could be a hub for innovative tech product development like Israel or Ireland, that is why we shifted our focus to it with the development of our restaurant operating platform CAKE and encouraged other local companies to do so as well. It is that leading edge innovation that attracted a world leader like Sysco to us. We are proud to now be contributing to the ongoing transformation of a major global industry from Sri Lanka and I would like to encourage all other local tech companies and entrepreneurs to see this as a model for how they can do the same.”