Abans offers academic scholarships to commemorate 50th anniversary

To celebrate the achievement of a milestone 50th year in business, Abans awarded substantial scholarships to academically gifted students, who are children of loyal employees, to support their pursuit of an elementary, O/L, A/L, or university education. Taking place on 13 July at the Abans Head Office, this event underscored Abans’ aim of uplifting the education standards within the Sri Lankan community.

“Abans always believes that every child of every socioeconomic background deserves access to a high-quality education. This aim has always guided our CSR initiatives throughout the years, ranging from laptop donations to the construction of smart classrooms across the country. With this project, we hope to offer deserving students, who are part of our employees’ families, the opportunity to fulfil their future goals by facilitating a truly rewarding academic career,” said Abans Group Chairperson Aban Pestonjee.

The occasion saw the gathering of students from different geographic and ethnic backgrounds under one roof, with their proud parents in tow. Dignitaries from Abans Group including Chairperson Aban Pestonjee, Director Dr. Saroshi Dubash, and Group Chief Human Resources Officer Dulani Nissanka, also attended the event. 

Pestonjee delivered an inspiring speech on the integral role that hard work, perseverance, and dedication play in ensuring a brighter future. She also underscored the importance of acquiring written and verbal skills in the English language to further one’s career. Pestonjee further expressed Abans’ decision to continually provide the scholarship recipients with other educational enhancements including language skills development, vocational training, IT facilities, and so forth.

Abans’ scholarship provision represents just one of their recent series of activities to engage and inspire their most important stakeholder – their employees. Building on Pestonjee’s strong emphasis on the family, each activity has geared towards rewarding the Abans employee community for their loyalty and hard work, be it family-oriented staff get-togethers, annual school book donations, employee welfare and recreation activities. With this initiative, Abans hopes to continue to invest into developing the educational and career growth of the children of employees as they will determine the future of our nation.

A cultural icon and pioneering super brand, Abans Group is a locally and globally reputed conglomerate that specialises in the several strategic business sectors including retail, services, logistics, manufacturing, real estate and infrastructure. Possessing an extensive retail network and a significant presence in several industries, Abans is an inspiring story of Sri Lankan exceptionalism, innovation, creativity and perseverance that continues to evolve throughout the ensuing generations. While the first fifty years have been indeed golden for Abans, the next fifty years will prove even more exciting and transformative as the conglomerate expands beyond our shores.