About me

Aninilavan Puvanesan (Ani, 23 years) is an Impact Entrepreneur and Community Leader from the deep North of Sri Lanka, which has been highly affected by the 30 years of armed conflict which ended in 2009 when he was 11 years old. Although the 03 decades of civil war made him a war child and refugee, most significantly, that positive thinking instilled in him takes up societal challenges and trends through entrepreneurship and grassroots innovations.

Throughout his 07+ years of community engagement, 6000+ networking and grassroots-level establishments, The entrepreneurial spirit has arisen profoundly that he could be acknowledged the need for an innovative-alternative approach. Ani founded The DreamsHub, a social venture for grassroots innovation, skills development and entrepreneurship, to support underserved and war-affected communities in Sri Lanka. Also, he founded iGrow, an agricultural startup company in Sri Lanka, to tackle major global food crises and support the local community to become a sustainable and thriving society.

Apart from his entrepreneurial ventures, he co-founded Strengthening Youth Leadership Collective [SYLC] as an impactful peace worker, a youth-led not-for-profit organisation to advocate for social challenges. Recognising his leadership and commitment to social change, He was selected as Sri Lankan Youth Representative to the ‘Global Unites Summit’ held in Nairobi, Kenya, British South Asian Youth Summit, and One Young World in Belfast, UK.

Ani says, ' No doubt that positive attitude will lead to possessing and emphasising a great leader's key qualities and skills. I believe in myself, and self-confidence once should maintain and strengthened is important. Hoping for the best further in the future and reaching it confidently is the greatest skill for the greatest leader.’