Dumindra Ratnayaka appointed Chairman of Avinya Foundation

Dumindra Ratnayaka has been appointed as the Chairman of the Avinya Foundation, a registered non-profit, philanthropic organization that provides scholarships to underprivileged Sri Lankan youth. He takes over as Chairman from Avinya Foundation Founder Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana, who is also the CEO and Founder of WSO2.

Avinya Foundation operates the Avinya Academy in Bandaragama as a pilot project where full scholarships are provided annually to underprivileged youth 18-25 years of age to equip them with essential 21st Century skills to foster equitable opportunities for those who have failed the traditional education stream. The academy has joined hands with Collaborative Partner Organisations such as Sampath Bank, Singer Sri Lanka, Sensus BPO, MRS Recovery Services, ROOTS Sri Lanka, Jumping Beans Cafe, Carmart, Mo-cher Salon, Superloop TechHub, SPAR Supermarket and The Tea Project to provide valuable industrial work experience to these students.

Dumindra Ratnayaka is the immediate past Chairman of the 1990 Suwa Seriya Foundation, which provides island-wide, free pre-hospital emergency care to all Sri Lankans. He was instrumental in introducing the 1990 pre-hospital care ambulance service in Sri Lanka and served as the Founding Chairman of the Board for two terms, where he helped expand the service to all parts of the island. 

Ratnayaka has also held the positions of Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), the apex agency for foreign direct investment in the country, and Board Director and Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Lanka (Pvt) Limited, the pioneering mobile telecommunications network in Sri Lanka. He also served as a Board member of Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA), the apex ICT institution of the Government of Sri Lanka. He is a graduate from the University of Moratuwa in Sri Lanka, with a 1st Class degree in Electronics and Telecommunications.

Avinya Academy's 2025 cohort is graduating in early December after completing their Empower Scholarship program with an Avinya Foundation certificate for Job skills, English skills, Computer skills, Maths skills with the STEM.org accreditation, and a TVEC NVQ Level 3 certificate for Customer Services. A selected number of students will also be awarded a certificate in Employability Skills from City & Guilds UK this year. 

In 2026, Avinya Academy will be doubling its impact by commencing the 6-month full-time program for up to 120 students in January, following which the second batch of 120 students will commence their studies in July. All facilities and resources at the Academy have been generously donated, with the bulk of donations by its principal benefactor, Dr. Sanjiva Weerawarana. These donations have been made with the intention of enabling Sri Lankan youth to enhance their skills, pursue education, and be inspired to achieve success. 

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Photo Caption 

Image 1 - Dumindra Ratnayaka