CBA celebrates 55 years with eye on global expansion

Ceylon Business Appliances (CBA) is celebrating 55 years in operation, marking its journey from a modest start-up to becoming a formidable player in Sri Lanka’s technology sector with plans to drive AI-led innovations and global expansion. 

The company said the anniversary is not only a milestone in longevity but also a recognition of a legacy built on resilience, passion and a long-standing commitment to people.

In 1970, CBA began in a modest room with just three individuals and a dream. Founded by the visionary late Chairman Charles Singhyar, it was passion, not capital, that laid our foundation. 

“Today, that small room has grown into a company of 300+ passionate professionals, a thriving CBA family tree rooted in trust, loyalty, and shared purpose,” the company said in a statement. “We’ve withstood the test of time not merely because of business acumen, but because of something far rarer, trust. Through civil war, natural disasters like the tsunami, a global pandemic, and a crippling economic crisis, CBA never faltered. Our strength was never just in our services, it was in our people, and the trust we nurtured through decades of staying true to our word”.

CBA Managing Director Sardha Fernando said: “We didn’t just survive. We stood by our communities when it mattered most. Our focus has never been just chasing numbers, it’s been about standing for our values, ethics, and responsibility to society. That’s what defines our growth.”

This deep culture of integrity is the reason people stay with the company, not just clients, but employees too. No one tells the CBA story better than those who lived it. “I’ve been at CBA for over 30 years,” shares CBA Senior Technical Specialist Tyrone Perera. “People often ask me why I stayed. The truth? You don’t leave a place where you’re respected, cared for, and empowered to grow. In a world full of opportunities, CBA remained the one place that brought out the best version of me, every single day.”

At CBA, its walls echo not with orders, but with empathy, respect, and belonging. CBA stands by its people in their hardest moments, living its care through every handshake, conversation, and shared dream. Here, differences are celebrated because the company believes innovation is born from inclusion, and that humanity shapes how it serves its clients. 

From its beginnings serving banks and trading companies, CBA has grown into a technological leader with a clear mission to bring world-class innovation to Sri Lanka. It stepped beyond its comfort zones into high-security printing, advanced fintech, and cutting-edge banking technologies. 

Over the past decade, it has embraced start-up ecosystems in EduTech, HealthTech, and Digital Enterprise Solutions, fuelling the next generation of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs. Along the way, it pioneered the nation’s first cashless vending solution, powered payment systems for 60,000+ merchants, delivered fintech solutions for banks, introduced state-of-the-art kiosks and smart boards, launched mini PCs and laptops, created the first virtual debit and credit card solutions, and developed e-ticketing systems for public transportation.

Its most recent endeavour? Driving AI-powered technologies that uplift operational efficiencies and accelerate Sri Lanka’s digital transformation.

This journey is only one phase of a greater purpose.  “We’re not just building a company, we’re building a movement,” says CBA Director/CEO Ruwath Fernando, “CBA is expanding across borders to become a truly multinational brand. But we’ll never forget our roots. Our priority will always be to uplift our motherland and its people in every way we can.”

Fernando adds: “We are going global, not just to grow, but to give back. Our goal isn’t just to help our own people, but to touch lives across borders. Yet no matter how far we go, our heart will always beat for our motherland. Because when we uplift each other we rise as a nation.”