Transforming the traditional construction methods to an unrivalled benchmark, JAG Group of Companies possess an emblematic eye for creations. Elaborating on their remarkable path of success, Kavindy De Costa, the CEO & Chairperson, manifests her interest in fulfilling their customers’ desires.  

Born and raised in Colombo, Kavindy stepped into her professional learning at Victoria University, Melbourne. Grasping a great deal in terms of business and investment, Kavindy is involved in her own business, investing in buying and selling properties. Taking pride in her unflinching capacity to handle enterprises, she states, “I got my entrepreneur skills from my grandparents and then my parents. I always watched them as a kid and wanted to do something for myself. That’s when I ventured my first investment into property and development, which is now involved with JAG Group”. She elaborates on the significant impact on her career via the international experience acquired in Australia, “I channelled my skills and expertise into the project. As a result, we have accomplished about five projects with wondrous responses from our customers. We are delighted that we could work during Covid-19 and achieve our goal in the past two years. I have great plans for the future, in terms of the company and myself”.

According to Kavindy, the JAG group is a dignified approach to providing customers with the ultimate living experience. Joining ties with Australia and Singapore, JAG ensures an admirable transformation of living spaces. Concentrating on minute details to make significant decisions, they approach construction holistically, piling solutions to benefit their customers. “We do not only look at apartments and properties. We closely observe the building quality, nature of ambience, wide-ranged colour schemes, vivid marketing strategies to the parallel between the customer’s vision and ours. I must appreciate our amazing team for their tremendous effort in construction, delivery services, marketing services and a lot more. Together we secure JAG as an innovative Builders and Construction company”, she adds while emphasizing their high-standard solutions in the construction market. Kavindy also views JAG group as a company accomplishing countless heights in a short period and with a stretched path to excel in as well. “We are happy to announce two upcoming projects for 2022 in Colombo”. She holds a tremendous amount of courage for the forthcoming decisions of the company, as it has connected and reached the hearts of their customers, gaining trust and recognition, even during Covid. 

Standing out from the ordinary parade, the JAG group has a different perspective towards constructions. Kavindy believes that JAG has its uniqueness compelled to its creativity, and approaches its clients with an open mind. “We are customer-centric organizations, and the customer’s demands drive us. So we believe in focusing on our customers, connecting our company with them, helping us understand them better”, she appends.

Developing on ISOs 9000 series and 21,000 series and has already obtained the BOI. Kavindy comments on their hard-focused intention to provide solutions, ensuring quality and sustainability by adding additional value to their customers’ requirements. Furthermore, having a robust team has largely assisted the JAG group in catering to the numerous needs of the JAG customers. “We take our staff matters very seriously. We look after their daily needs, from lunches to motivational sessions, and we make sure we back them up with financial incentives to keep them stable during Covid times. Looking after their families and their daily needs is our responsibility. Yet, we didn’t quit working”, claims Kavindy. She intensely admires the staff members and anticipates fortifying their bonds to face the future as an individual family. She adds, “We listen to them and make them feel welcomed to our company through thick or thin.”

Thinking a step ahead, the JAG group always prefers planning critically to ensure a clear route toward completing the project. JAG takes a meticulous approach through every possible detail to accomplish their targets, from construction to marketing. “We try hard to achieve our financial targets as the cost of materials and labour are skyrocketing at the moment. The market is volatile. As much as we like to say that this market is a great arena for investment, we should mention the rise and drop of prices, day by day. So we are concerned about the prices and take great effort in maintaining quality amidst the constraints”, Kavindy shares. 

Initiating a new project in JAG translates into a lot of planning. However, with Covid on the rise, issues like vaccination and lockdown have hindered their probability from expanding, bounding them to safety restrictions. Adapting to changes whenever possible whilst delivering a project, JAG transforms its priorities from labour charges to other costing strategies depending on the earnestness to guarantee a balance between quality, quantity and efficiency. JAG Groups has leapt to perfection through system upgrades, wanting to preserve the title ‘Most Innovative Building and Real Estate Company’ within Sri Lanka. “We upgraded our system to a high-end CRM and a project management system, so we can make better and crisp decisions every minute”, shares Kavindy.

In JAG, Kavindy states that teams are formed and trained to ensure a smoother process flow. She shares the impact training has on time as it is vital to be punctual with projects. Team members are enriched with the process and procedures, making them 100 % aware of their entitled responsibilities to mould the project into a masterpiece. Re-evaluating their work and quality continuously, JAG focuses significantly on the time and productivity when pitching their plots to their customers, which according to Kavindy.is a differentiating element between JAG Groups and other builders. 

Challenging as it ever might be, Kavindy claims the hardships during the Covid-19 months. She thinks the pandemic was much unexpected, making them redesign their business strategies. “Re-planning was certainly happening all over again. We were targeted, but we also had to take care of our people. Staff members had to leave to their families during these crucial times. It was extremely challenging, but we took it seriously. We took care of families while our staff worked for us. We invested more money on people because that is important to us,” she asserts, concerned about the past two years. Kavindy claims that the company is back on track with a team of determined staff members and that production is eventually revolving towards normal. 

Kavindy recollects, “Being an entrepreneur is daring but being a female real estate entrepreneur is the real challenge”. She states that obstacles are an obvious expectation in the entrepreneurial world. Moreover, being a woman, walking into the construction site is a new perspective for most people. Kavindy is proud of her capacity to adapt and adhere to the positive outcomes within her field, learning and acquiring any possible advice along the lines of 5 years. Paying attention to staff members and collaborating with them, Kavindi accepts this to be a prodigious beginning to her entrepreneurial journey. She believes in her ability to embark on an incredible journey and hopes to refresh their ideas after Covid. Ending her account, Kavindy declares, “My advice to a woman is to be self-assured to come forward and transform this industry to a sustainable real estate industry in Sri Lanka, as we have a long way in progression compared to other countries”.