We have made positive contribution to the Sri Lankan economy: Uber’s Bhavna Dadlani Jayawardena

Bhavna Dadlani Jayawardena, General Manager, Uber Sri Lanka, comes from an accounting and economics background and is a qualified chartered accountant. Bhavna joined Uber in 2018, bringing diverse domain experiences to the table. 

While she was still studying economics at the London School of Economics Bhavna started working at Ernst & Young focussing on corporate finance. Upon graduating, she joined PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) where she worked on risk and data advisory. 

“One of the biggest learnings while I was in London was to focus on people. That was something I felt strongly about and managed to bring back when I moved to Sri Lanka,” shared Bhavna, speaking at the HerStory Women on a Mission Summit 2022, held on March 11-12.   

Bhavna was born and brought up in Colombo, Sri Lanka. When she moved back to Sri Lanka from London, her first role was at Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts looking at brand development. She then headed the UberEATS business in Sri Lanka, spending the first couple of months putting together a “superstar team”. 

“I consider myself really fortunate to be able to wake up every day and look forward to my work. And I would say that comes down to two key reasons. The first one being the impact that is created on ground is so much bigger than ourselves — from (creating) earning opportunities for all our partners, to (driving) accessibility of essentials for our customers through these challenging times. And, of course, for the positive contribution that we made to the Sri Lankan economy overall. We love adding value to the country and the region,” explained Bhavna.  

Building UberEats

Bhavna played an instrumental role in launching and leading UberEATS in Sri Lanka.

Talking about  the initial challenges, Bhavna shared, “Recruiting the right talent did take a little bit of time as we were starting off, and potentially because the band was still new in the market and brand awareness was still in its growth phase, vastly different to where we are today, where we get really great interest overall every time we post a role.” 

She added how that’s also a testimony to the love that they built with the brand in the market ever since. 

Educating the market around technology was yet another challenge in the initial phase. “We got around that by constantly improving on other training processes, educating our partners, and it is an area although we've come a long way, they're always trying to get better at it as we continue expansion into suburbs and other cities,” said Bhavna.  

Nurturing women communities

The Uber group’s Diviyata Diriya’ initiative, which enables equal access to economic opportunities for women and other marginalised communities, was launched soon after Bhavna joined Uber in 2018. 

“Diviyata Diriya is a project that we're passionate about,” emphasised Bhavna. 

The meaning of ‘Diviyata Diriya’ is encouragement for life, and it was created with the vision to help women and other marginalised communities gain independence. Females are underrepresented in the Sri Lankan employment landscape, explained Bhavna, adding that the Uber project has made some positive impact.

The diversity agenda

Bhavna also weighed in on the inclusion and diversity agenda, gaining greater momentum each passing day.

“As leaders, I believe, we have a big role to play in demonstrating empathy to ultimately build and support a thriving culture that will make the office a more welcoming place for females. That being said, I do believe that it is a two-way street. So, while companies should provide that environment, it's also important for women to have that openness in the way they approach an opportunity,” asserted Bhavna. That includes being open to agility, being open to being a part of a fast-paced environment, she added. 

This would increase representation and opportunities for female leaders, shared Bhavna who believes in leading by example, demonstrating the qualities that others could learn and pick up from.

She stressed on “diversity of thought”, adding that with the war for talent intensifying, a strong people culture with the right policies, mentoring and coaching, and empowering teams at every single level, would be key.