Elzian Agro, a pioneering precision agriculture company from Sri Lanka, has been honored as a finalist in the World Bank Youth Innovation Challenge, which highlights innovative water solutions for the new climate reality. Selected from a pool of over 1,600 submissions representing 95 countries and more than 300 high-caliber applications from 63 countries, Elzian Agro stands among the top 40 finalists in this esteemed competition.

The World Bank's Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) organized the challenge to unite donors, governments, foundations, private sector stakeholders, NGOs, and youth in promoting programs that boost employment opportunities for young people.

The driving force behind Elzian Agro is co-founder Lilan Dayananda, who was recently featured on Forbes Magazine’s “30 Under 30 Asia” list. He is joined by Pankajan Satkunam, Tharindu Priyankara, and their outstanding team. Together, they bring a rich mix of skills and expertise, enabling them to offer robust support to farmers through an advanced monitoring and decision-support system with integrated automation. Their IoT monitoring system provides precise environmental weather and soil data, mainly for industrial and agricultural applications. Additionally, their automation system, which includes both hardware and software, efficiently manages irrigation and other agricultural processes.

Elzian Agro has also been recognized as one of the top ten youth-led social enterprises at the Global-South Development Expo 2022 by the United Nations Youth Envoy’s Office, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and UNDP Youth Co:Lab. Further accolades include a feature in the Commonwealth Youth Awards in 2022 and recognition as one of the top 100 meaningful businesses in 2023 by Ernst & Young (EY), Hogan Lovells Global Law Firms, Babson College, and the Meaningful Business Community.