Rakhil Fernando, Managing Director of Daraz Sri Lanka, has been appointed as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of the Daraz Group, headquartered in Singapore, with effect from 1 June 2023.
This announcement follows the successful completion of Rakhil’s tenure as the Managing Director of Daraz Sri Lanka. Throughout his leadership, the organisation saw tremendous expansion, and the brand successfully established itself as a well-known entity among Sri Lankans.
During his tenure as the Managing Director, Rakhil spearheaded numerous initiatives that strengthened and revolutionised the brand’s presence and operations in the country. These included the incubation and launch of Sri Lanka’s first buy-now-pay-later mobile application, KOKO Pay, the remarkable growth of Daraz Express, the company’s logistics arm, and the country’s first in-depth study on the e-commerce landscape with SLASSCOM.
Under his dynamic leadership, Daraz Sri Lanka experienced unprecedented growth, achieving record-breaking sales figures, expanding its customer base significantly and growing from a team of just 400 members to an organisation with a young and dynamic workforce of approximately 2000 staff. Daraz’s Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) increased fivefold since 2019, seller registrations grew by 150% and customers grew by over 250% since 2019. As part of his strategic vision to offer better choices and greater value to online shoppers, Rakhil also oversaw the growth of Daraz’s product assortment which currently includes more than 5 million products and is a significant increase from 150,000 four years ago.
Rakhil’s strategic vision and creative approaches saw Daraz Sri Lanka grow from a start-up to a household name throughout the island. He led the charge with innovative branding and marketing campaigns, such as Sri Lanka’s first drone show in 2022, the annual 11.11 mega sale, as well as successful partnerships with high-profile conglomerates including Reckitt, Nestlé, and Dialog Axiata, which further bolstered the performance and positioning of the online marketplace.
Rakhil’s extensive experience in the e-commerce industry, coupled with his profound understanding of market dynamics, makes him an invaluable asset to Daraz Group. In his new role, Rakhil will report to the Daraz Group headquarters in Singapore, overseeing the strategic management of corporate affairs, and will lead efforts to further strengthen the organisation’s regional and global presence. His appointment also highlights Daraz’s commitment to elevating in-country talent and offering Sri Lanka an opportunity to champion the e-commerce industry globally.