Heshan de Silva
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Heshan de Silva | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 April 1988 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Alma mater | Lynn University |
Heshan de Silva (Born 7 April 1988) is an entrepreneur and philanthropist, known popularly for his work in Nairobi, Kenya. Heshan first came to the public spotlight in 2013, when Forbes listed him as 1 of 10 successful African entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter[1], being listed among others such as Strive Masiyiwa, Tony Elumelu, Ashish Thakkar, and Chris Kirubi. Popularly known for his enterprising ability to invest in and transform businesses, in 2014 Heshan was listed in the inaugural Forbes '30 under 30' for Africa[2], at the age of only 25.
Heshan gained a lot of media publicity for his ability to make seed investments in businesses spanning numerous different sectors including tech, media, agribusiness, and consumer industries. He gained a lot of public and private support, as his business ethos promoted Christian values and he encouraged young people and budding entrepreneurs to start businesses despite the limitations they faced. Heshan decided to use his platform to encourage other young entrepreneurs to start businesses, and other investors to re-invest their capital locally, rather than internationally, which was commonplace at the time. Not only would he engage in public speaking events across society, he would also write regularly for CapitalFM[3]. In addition to Forbes, Heshan has been featured on BBC's Focus on Africa, CNN[4], the Daily Beast [5], and numerous other publications.
In 2015, Heshan decided to step away from the public spotlight to focus on his own endeavors as the media spotlight and vested interests, which he once entertained to publicise his work became more focussed on him and discrediting his image.
Personal Life[edit]
Heshan de Silva's paternal grandfather, A.H.C. de Silva[6], was a Queen's Counsel lawyer in Sri Lanka, while his brother Dudley de Silva, was the second Sri Lankan principal of Royal College, Colombo.
Heshan was educated at some of the top private schools in Kenya, and went on to university in Boca Raton, Florida at the age of 17. Being too young to engage socially in another country, Heshan naively got involved with older students who promoted underage inebriation. Heshan attempted to commit suicide in 2006, at the start of his second year in University, and subsequently decided to drop out of the University[7].
Upon returning back to Kenya, Heshan took time to recover from his previous addictions, and began working for his father's tea exporting company. He also spent a brief stint in Sri Lanka working for various companies.
In 2014, seeing the need for capital investment and assistance in the local startup ecosystem in Nairobi, Kenya, Heshan decided to start his own business with very little savings to his name, but a strong belief in God.
Controversy[edit]
Over time Heshan gained a lot of public attention for his work, and soon the media made what he was doing about his net worth, bringing forward numerous stories first to propagate the headlines that he was a billionaire, and later to dispel them. Heshan, being under 30 at the time was unable to deal with the pressures of the public spotlight and decided to move away from the public realm in order to focus on what he was doing. While Heshan had a lot of Government support for his encouragement of startups and youth enterprises, the media decided to take this another way in order to promote their own views and agendas.
References[edit]
https://wiki.wfglobal.org/5-entrepreneurs-in-africa-who-started-a-successful-business-with-100-or-less-2/ http://www.mindsky.com/magazine/career-advice/20-inspiring-quotes-from-africas-top-entrepreneurs-on-how-to-start-a-successful-business https://www.brandsouthafrica.com/investments-immigration/africanews/meet-heshan-de-silva-kenya-s-25-year-old-dollar-multimillionaire https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/meet-the-boss-heshan-de-silva-ceo-de-silva-group-kenya/ https://www.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/dn2/Boy-billionaire-Heshan-lacks-de-Silver-Okay-LARRY-MADOWO/957860-2677948-1at9b/index.html http://nairobiwire.com/2015/04/heshan-de-silva-under-siege-is-he-really-a-billionaire-pr-firm-dumps-him-citing-dishonesty.html http://larrymadowo.co.ke/heshan-de-silva-answers-10-questions-in-last-interview/ http://exposeke.com/heshan-de-silva-answers-10-questions-in-last-interview/ https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/meet-the-boss-heshan-de-silva-ceo-de-silva-group-kenya/ https://hapakenya.com/2014/03/27/the-heshan-de-silva-riches-story-does-not-add-up/ http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/african-banker/heshan-de-silva-venture-capitalist/ https://www.brandsouthafrica.com/investments-immigration/africanews/meet-heshan-de-silva-kenya-s-25-year-old-dollar-multimillionaire http://successness.com/2015/02/heshan-de-silva-venture-capitalist-philanthropist/ https://techmoran.com/what-heshan-de-silva-really-does-part-i/ http://www.ghafla.com/after-being-exposed-as-a-broke-billionare-heshan-de-silva-escapes-to-south-africa-he-is-living-large-photos/ http://www.risingafrica.org/success-stories/business/heshan-de-silva-25yr-old-kenyan-multimillionaire-and-founder-of-a-venture-capital-firm/
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