Osman Kassim is an entrepreneur and education visionary, who has been instrumental in the development of an international collaboration with Staffordshire University to deliver Higher Education in Sri Lanka.
A global entrepreneur, Osman is the Founder Chairman of Expolanka Holdings PLC, which was a pioneer exporter of fresh produce when operations commenced in 1978; since then, Expolanka Group has diversified to encompass many sectors of enterprise from manufacturing to transportation and presently operates in 38 cities across 12 counties.
In 1999, Osman was instrumental in establishing the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) Sri Lanka, as one of the first private higher education institutions in the country in collaboration with (APIIT) Malaysia and Staffordshire University.
(APIIT) Sri Lanka has had thousands of students enrolled on Staffordshire University awards in Computing, Business and Law. A further 25 awards have been validated in 2013 to further cement the partnership between both institutions.
Alongside his success in business and education, Osman is recognised and respected in Sri Lanka among many Muslims for his knowledge of the principles of Shariah Law, and for his pioneering efforts in introducing Islamic Finance and islamic insurance Takaful in Sri Lanka which led to the establishment of the first Islamic Investment Company in 1997, the first Islamic Insurance Company in 1998, and the first Shariah compliant Bank in 2011.
Osman is also a committed philanthropist and his career has included a Non- Executive Director of Expolanka Holdings PLC, Chairman of Amana Bank and Vidullanka PLC, and on the board of many other companies.
The award of Honorary Doctor of Staffordshire University is bestowed upon Osman in recognition of his achievements as both a global entrepreneur and visionary educationalist.