Certification is a trade enabler. It gives buyers confidence, opens export doors, and forces discipline across processes, ranging from food safety and quality to information security and sustainability. In Sri Lanka, strengthening this “quality infrastructure” is not a nice-to-have; it is a requirement for competitiveness.
Ceycert (Pvt) Ltd is part of that push. An independent, Sri Lanka Accreditation Board (SLAB)-accredited third-party certification body, Ceycert has scaled quickly by offering a broad suite of ISO and related schemes with cost-effective, timely service and a strong emphasis on auditor expertise and impartiality. Its model is simple: credible accreditation, rigorous audits, and practical approaches that help firms improve and compete.
Echelon sat down with Sanjiv Manchanaike, Managing Director and Founder of Ceycert, to chart the company’s trajectory, from a one-employee start-up to a fast-growing, multi-scheme certification body with regional reach, and to ask where Sri Lankan certification goes next.
Ceycert has quickly positioned itself as one of the fastest-growing certification bodies in Sri Lanka. What inspired its establishment, and what were some of its first milestones?
My own journey began in plantations, where compliance audits and extensive training exposed me to standards, sustainability, and supply chain realities. After stints in business development and later as a freelance auditor trained by international bodies, I launched Ceycert in the post-COVID period with one recruit and a simple brief: be efficient, productive, and timely.
gan with ISO 22000 and ISO 9001, and have since expanded to more than nine schemes, becoming the largest certification body in Sri Lanka in terms of the number of schemes with SLAB accreditation. We were also the first Sri Lankan company to offer a certification for Information Security Management System (ISO/IEC 27001:2022), with accreditation. Four years on; three as an accredited body, we now serve over 350 clients, have certified more than 150 tea businesses, and are expanding beyond Sri Lanka to Bangladesh and the Maldives, with further entry planned into Myanmar, Cambodia, and Africa.
From being a relatively new entrant to becoming a globally recognised accredited certification body, how has Ceycert built trust and credibility among local and international clients?
Our credibility rests on accreditation. Ceycert is accredited by SLAB, a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). This makes our certificates internationally valid through the IAF-MLA, with IAF CertSearch listings and QR codes for verification. Clients receive the same global recognition as with leading players. We also serve international clients in the Maldives and Bangladesh, extending our expertise beyond Sri Lanka. We caution against non-direct-accredited providers, whose certificates can lose value overnight. Our focus on transparent validation, IAF alignment and auditable traceability secures long-term trust.
We also challenge the idea that certification is only for large enterprises. Standards, document control, traceability and risk reduction bring immediate gains in quality and credibility for firms of any size. That is why we extend schemes to SMEs in food and services, run webinars and keep audits practical. Nationally, Sri Lanka’s quality infrastructure needs greater attention. By building technical capacity and offering accessible schemes, we aim to make certification a tool for growth rather than a compliance burden.
Over time, Ceycert has expanded its portfolio to cover ISO certifications across multiple disciplines. How has this service expansion shaped the brand’s value proposition in the market?
Expansion has shifted demand dynamics. In the early days we had to pursue clients; today growth is largely organic. At ProFood ProPack 2025, for instance, booth traffic produced 10–15 immediate conversions and 20 prepaid certifications in just three days. Our portfolio spans system and product schemes in food, quality, environment, energy, safety, sustainability and information security, allowing clients to consolidate audits with one provider. We serve large, medium and small businesses alike, regardless of size or complexity. Clients choose Ceycert for impartiality, transparency, reliability and global recognition, underpinned by SLAB accreditation and IAF alignment. Our team combines experienced international auditors with young local professionals whose diverse approaches sustain operations. The result is a value proposition based on access, speed and technical rigour rather than marketing.
As you look ahead, what new opportunities or sectors do you see Ceycert focusing on to support businesses in Sri Lanka and beyond?
Food systems will remain a central focus, with schemes such as GMP, HACCP and ISO 22000 continuing to grow in response to rising export demand, while FSSC 22000 is being introduced to serve international markets.
On the technology side, Ceycert is strengthening its expertise in information security and IT service management through standards like ISO 27001 and ISO 20000, while also developing capabilities in business continuity, privacy management and, AI management systems.
Sustainability is another key area, where we are expanding into carbon footprint and water footprint verification, life-cycle assessments, along with greenhouse gas quantification and carbon crediting. Our objective is to provide credible, transparent, and science-based verification that supports organisations in demonstrating their environmental responsibility and advancing towards sustainable development goals.
Ceycert has also taken first-mover steps into new areas such as GMP for cosmetics (ISO 22716) under SLAB accreditation. Alongside these services, we continue to invest in market education, through initiatives such as accredited lead auditor training programmes, other tailored training, and webinars, including Sri Lanka’s first combined lead auditor training programme and webinar sessions on ISO 42001, to support awareness and adoption.
With Ceycert already aligning with global standards through SLAB accreditation, are there plans to expand its footprint internationally?
Ceycert has entered Bangladesh and the Maldives, with plans for Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, and further afield to Central Asia, Tanzania and Kenya. The expansion thesis rests on accredited portability (IAF-MLA recognition) plus local delivery: bringing credible certificates closer to exporters and SMEs, reducing friction and cost, and advocating for fair market access under recognized schemes.