David Pieris Automobiles (Private) Limited (DPA), the four-wheeler sales arm of the David Pieris Group, announced the opening of its state-of-the-art GWM Flagship Experience Centre at 250, Access Tower 03, Union Place, Colombo 02, marking a significant milestone in the evolution of Sri Lanka’s automotive retail landscape.

The newly opened flagship facility is designed to deliver a truly world-class automotive experience, showcasing the latest innovations and technologies from GWM, one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers. As the first and only vehicle experience centre of its kind in Sri Lanka, it offers customers an immersive journey that goes beyond the traditional showroom concept. Visitors can explore GWM’s premium range of SUVs and electric vehicles, including the HAVAL H6 HEV, HAVAL H6 PHEV, HAVAL H6 GT PHEV, TANK 300 HEV and TANK 500 HEV, while enjoying dedicated vehicle demonstration zones, test-drive opportunities, and a host of innovative customer engagement experiences designed to redefine the vehicle purchasing journey. GWM’s product portfolio in Sri Lanka will be further expanded in the coming months with the introduction of several new models, including a range of fully electric vehicles.

With a legacy spanning over four decades, the David Pieris Group has earned a reputation as one of Sri Lanka’s most trusted automotive organisations, particularly for its comprehensive after-sales support and customer service excellence. Strengthening its commitment to GWM customers, DPA has already established a dedicated, state-of-the-art GWM service centre at No. 75, Hyde Park Corner, Colombo 02, supported by an expanding network of authorised service dealers across the island to ensure convenient and reliable customer care.

Commenting on the opening, Mahesh Gunathilake, Director, David Pieris Automobiles, stated: “The opening of the GWM Flagship Experience Centre represents a significant milestone in our journey with the GWM brand in Sri Lanka. This is the country’s first dedicated state-of-the-art experience centre for GWM vehicles, offering customers the opportunity to experience world-class automotive technology, premium comfort and advanced safety features. GWM has successfully redefined modern mobility by delivering high-end luxury and innovation at an affordable price point, and we are proud to bring this exceptional experience to Sri Lankan motorists.”

The opening of the flagship facility further reinforces David Pieris Automobiles’ commitment to expanding GWM’s presence in Sri Lanka while providing customers with an unmatched ownership experience backed by the Group’s renowned sales and after-sales expertise.(DPA)

Issue no.1 of a ground-breaking journal on Sri Lankan food and culture has just been launched and it’s such an engaging ‘read’ that it just cannot be put down by the reader until s/he reaches the last word in the publication. Titled ‘ROOTED’ it is a publication of Rooted Publications Pvt. Ltd. Colombo (www.rootedsrilanka.com).

This is no run-of-the-mill journal on local ‘culinary delights’. It is a profoundly empathetic, sensitive exploration of the uniqueness of Sri Lankan food and the cultures of the country. In other words, it’s a close, appreciative examination of what makes the native food of Sri Lanka and its cultures special and hard to replicate and replace.

Writers of the arrestingly illustrated articles in ‘ROOTED’ have apparently spared no pains to travel the length and breadth of Sri Lanka to unravel, with mesmeric pleasure, the food and drink offers at the heart of Sri Lankan cuisine. The food connoisseur has all his curiosities satisfied in the journal and cannot prevent his taste buds from being stimulated on reading the contents of the journal.

Regardless of geographical or physical location what Sri Lanka has to offer its own people or the visitor to the country by way of particularly indigenous dishes and meal spreads are made to come alive in these pages. The connoisseurs and food experts are taken on an entrancing journey into homes transformed into family restaurants, aromatic eateries and bustling market places with sizzling catch along the sea coast of the island to its interior in this appetizing survey of Sri Lankan food.

What is distinct in terms of food and drink to the different ethnicities and cultures of the land are rendered in larger-than-life eye-catching portrayals via the pen and the lens. Consequently the journal not only celebrates food but also its distinctive cultural roots and identities. That is, people are serenaded alongside food.

In the process, the ‘ambul thials’, the ‘ala thel and brinjal badums’, the ‘thilapia curries’, the multifarious, ‘mouth-burning sambols’ and heady ‘Arrack shots’ experimentally mixed, to name just a few such offers of food and drink with a uniquely Sri Lankan stamp on them, are made to come alive in ‘ROOTED’.

The magazine has been put together by an editorial team headed by editors Chadini Fernando, Vidya Balachander and they need to be commended on a job well done.

By Lynn Ockersz

In Sri Lanka, selling something has always carried an unspoken risk for women. Share your number with a stranger. Arrange a meeting. Handle cash. Hope for the best.

MO Marketplace, live since June 2024, has removed every one of those friction points. Buyers and sellers on the platform never need to exchange personal contact details. Payments are held in escrow until delivery is confirmed. Pickup and drop-off is managed entirely by MO. Two people can complete a transaction from start to finish without ever speaking directly to each other.

For women running home-based businesses or women simply have too many clothes and things, that architecture is not a convenience. It is a fundamental shift in what is possible.

The evidence is in the listings. Clothing, fashion, and home goods dominate the platform, categories overwhelmingly driven by female sellers and buyers. From home-based clothing traders to small lifestyle businesses operating out of living rooms across Colombo, women are using MO to participate in commerce on their own terms, without compromising safety or privacy.

The platform has recorded 45,000 downloads and 14,000 registered users in 18 months, with peak monthly active users of 15,000. Commissions are capped at a flat 10%, significantly below the 15% to 30% charged by dominant platforms, making it accessible for small and micro sellers.

Coming mid-2026, AI tools will automatically generate listing descriptions and enhance product images, removing two of the most common barriers to getting started as a seller. Video selling is also on its way.

Sri Lanka has no shortage of entrepreneurial women. Until now it lacked a platform designed around how they actually need to trade.