Daraz joins UN Global Compact to shape a more sustainable future for its communities

Daraz Sri Lanka recently joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact with the aim of building long-term sustainability, meaningful engagement, and strengthening its business operations.Daraz is one of South Asia’s leading e-commerce platforms and has progressively contributed to the growth of digital economies in key South Asian frontier markets, including Sri Lanka. Joining the UN Global Compact initiative further enhances the Company’s purpose to uplift communities through the power of commerce.

Sharing his thoughts on the company’s move to join the UN Global Compact, Daraz Sri Lanka Managing Director Rakhil Fernando commented: “As our business and teams continues to grow, we are always looking for more ways to advance our people and culture, social responsibility, and business sustainability commitments. There is a lot of opportunity and potential, and we want to make measurable, meaningful, and long-lasting contributions to the communities that we serve. Being a part of the UN Global Compact will give us a great network and framework to tap into and learn from.”

The UN Global Compact is the world’s largest sustainability initiative that calls on companies to align their strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. Through corporate partnerships, the UN Global Compact drives change across all aspects of corporate sustainability and provides tools to help businesses manage environmental responsibility, social impacts, and good governance while also integrating their corporate agendas with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDG).

Commenting on the partnership with the UN Global Compact, Daraz Head of Public Policy and Corporate Affairs Anishka De Zylva said: “Bringing better awareness of social responsibility and good governance to our organization and communities is integral to building a sustainable business that drives development and economic growth. This partnership with UNGC will give us more impetus and a strong network to contribute to and leverage to create better business practices and shape crucial conversations with internal and external stakeholders. It will take time to transform our thinking and help our people and business to take into account new indicators that matter, but we look forward to the challenge and to working with UNGC to build a dynamic and agile future.”

Daraz Sri Lanka is the largest online shopping marketplace in Sri Lanka and is home to a wide range of products featured under groceries (Daraz Mart), consumer electronics, home appliances, fashion, sports goods, pet supplies, and much more. Daraz Sri Lanka is a part of South Asia’s premier online shopping marketplace Daraz, which has an active and growing presence in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. Supported by cutting-edge technology, tailored marketing, data, and service solutions, Daraz Sri Lanka hosts a growing base of 2.5 million users, over 125,000 registered sellers, and at any given time, over 4.5 million products that are being advertised and sold on the platform.

Daraz’s logistics company, DEX, delivers more than 50,000 packages to consumers every day, and a majority of those 50,000-plus packages are sold by local sellers that operate on the platform. Daraz is focused on delivering excellent customer experiences, ease of purchase, comprehensive customer care, and a hassle-free shopping and returns experience. Supported by the strength of the Alibaba Group, Daraz is transforming into the fastest growing e-commerce platform in the region.