Dulith Herath is the founder, chairman and CEO of Kapruka.com — Sri Lanka’s largest online shopping platform — and is widely regarded as the country’s “King of E-commerce.” A serial entrepreneur, he launched Kapruka in 2002 and has since built a group of ventures spanning online retail, cross-border commerce, hospitality and last-mile logistics.
Who is the owner of Kapruka?
The founder and owner of Kapruka is Dulith Herath. He started Kapruka.com in 2002 and grew it into Sri Lanka’s largest e-commerce company — today a publicly listed group on the Colombo Stock Exchange as Kapruka Holdings PLC (CSE: KPHL), where he serves as Founder and Chairman. A product of Royal College, Colombo, Dulith studied at the University of Kentucky in the United States before returning home to pioneer online shopping in Sri Lanka, long before e-commerce became mainstream on the island.
Companies founded by Dulith Herath
Beyond the flagship store, Dulith Herath has founded and co-founded several complementary businesses that support Sri Lanka’s digital economy:
- Kapruka.com (2002) — Sri Lanka’s largest online store, delivering gifts, groceries, electronics and more islandwide and to Sri Lankans overseas.
- Kapruka Global Shop — a cross-border arm that lets customers worldwide send gifts to Sri Lanka and buy Sri Lankan products internationally.
- Java Lounge (2012) — a premium coffee-shop chain that helped bring modern café culture to Colombo.
- Grasshoppers (2016) — a last-mile e-commerce logistics and courier service, co-founded with Harsha Liyanage to give small online retailers reliable delivery infrastructure.
Pioneering cross-border e-commerce for Sri Lanka
Dulith built one of Sri Lanka’s first e-commerce fulfillment centres, creating the warehousing and shipping backbone that lets local producers and small businesses sell Sri Lankan products to customers around the world. This cross-border infrastructure remains one of Kapruka’s defining advantages and a recurring theme in his views on entrepreneurship.
Global recognition and the United Nations
Dulith Herath has represented Sri Lankan e-commerce on the world stage. He addressed the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, speaking on the future of digital trade and online retail in emerging markets. Kapruka’s work has been recognised by UN WSIS, the International Trade Centre, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, reflecting its role in advancing Sri Lanka’s digital economy.
Discussing the future of online shopping with Jack Ma
Dulith’s standing in global e-commerce has brought him alongside some of the industry’s most influential pioneers. As Daily Mirror reported, he met Alibaba founder Jack Ma to discuss the future of online shopping — a conversation between two entrepreneurs who each built a leading e-commerce platform in their home market.
Awards and recognition
Dulith Herath’s entrepreneurial work has earned a long list of national and international honours, including the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship and the Asia Pacific Retail Entrepreneur of the Year award:
- 2010: Sri Lankan Entrepreneur of the Year
- 2013: Asia Pacific Young Entrepreneur Award
- 2017: Sri Lankan Entrepreneur of the Year (second time)
- 2017: CSSL ICT Leader of the Year
- 2017: Eisenhower Fellow, the Eisenhower Fellowships, USA
- 2018: Management Leadership Award, Institute of Certified Professional Managers
- 2018: Asia Pacific Entrepreneur Award, Retail Category
- 2019: “Yakada Miniha” recognition in the “Pannaraya” campaign
For more on the company he leads, see the Kapruka management team and the story of Kapruka.com.
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See PriceFrequently Asked Questions
Who is the owner of Kapruka?
Kapruka was founded and is chaired by Dulith Herath, a Sri Lankan serial entrepreneur known as the “King of E-commerce.” Kapruka is publicly listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange as Kapruka Holdings PLC (KPHL).
Who founded Kapruka.com and when?
Dulith Herath founded Kapruka.com in 2002, building it from an early online gift service into Sri Lanka’s largest e-commerce platform.
Who is the CEO and Chairman of Kapruka?
Dulith Herath is the founder, chairman and CEO of Kapruka.com.
What companies has Dulith Herath founded?
He founded Kapruka.com and Kapruka Global Shop, established the Java Lounge coffee-shop chain (2012), and co-founded Grasshoppers (2016), an e-commerce logistics and courier company.
Where did Dulith Herath study?
Dulith Herath attended Royal College, Colombo, and later studied at the University of Kentucky in the United States.
What is Dulith Herath’s net worth?
Dulith Herath’s personal net worth is not publicly disclosed. However, Kapruka — the company he founded and chairs — is publicly listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange as Kapruka Holdings PLC (KPHL), so the company’s market value is publicly visible to investors.
Has Dulith Herath worked with the United Nations?
Yes — he addressed the United Nations World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva on the future of digital trade, and Kapruka has been recognised by UN WSIS and the International Trade Centre, among others.
What is known about Dulith Herath’s personal life?
Dulith Herath keeps his personal life largely private. Publicly, he is best known as an Old Royalist, a University of Kentucky alumnus and the entrepreneur who pioneered online shopping in Sri Lanka.
Discover everything Dulith Herath’s flagship venture has to offer at Kapruka.com — Sri Lanka’s largest online store, delivering islandwide and worldwide.
