The David Pieris Group presented over Rs. 20 million in seed funding to selected young entrepreneurs at the Thalir Seed Funding Award Ceremony 2025, at the North Gate Hotel in Jaffna.
This event marked the next phase of the Group’s ‘Thalir’ initiative, launched a few months ago to uplift aspiring entrepreneurs in the Northern region under the Northern Development Program of the David Pieris Group. Meaning “sprout” in Tamil, Thalir reflects the spirit of growth and fresh beginnings — an apt symbol for the energy and ambition of the young business minds now poised to make their mark. Designed to provide capital and mentorship, the program aims to support scalable business ventures across key sectors including automotive, logistics, information technology, agriculture, tourism and exports. Four people received grants of Rs. 500,000 to launch their business ideas, while three standout ventures secured convertible funding totalling around Rs. 20 million. These entrepreneurs were selected from over 100 applicants, with 26 shortlisted for the second-round workshop designed to assess project viability, innovation and community impact. Project Lead, Thalir and Group Chief Information Officer of David Pieris Holdings, Jeyaraj Sayanthan said, “We were impressed by the sheer creativity and commitment shown by these young visionaries. Thalir is not just a funding programme — it’s a platform to inspire long-term economic growth in the North through sustainable, forward-thinking entrepreneurship.”