Business

Sri Lanka’s future is decidedly female: banking on empowered women for economic rejuvenation

Published

4 years ago

2022/03/8

By Hatton National Bank Chairperson Aruni Goonetilleke

One of the most famous women in history once said: “Within crisis, are the seeds of opportunity”. The source of such a powerful truism? Marilyn Monroe, a woman who clearly possessed great wisdom, but is unfortunately remembered for her physical beauty than her intellectual and emotional strength.

While it may be hard to focus on growth during times of turbulence, those that are able to find those seeds of opportunity ultimately receive disproportionate benefits. Today Sri Lanka is in the middle of just such a moment. There is of course unanimous consensus that our nation needs to urgently identify and utilize every available opportunity to help revive and rejuvenate our economy. But the devil is in the details.

Therefore, in weighing our options, we should consider a few essential details. First, we must acknowledge that is a compelling reason why women’s empowerment is often raised in tandem with economic development. Globally, countries are estimated to lose US$160 trillion in wealth because of differences in lifetime earnings between women and men. This amounts to an average of US $23,620 for each person in the 141 countries studied by the World Bank.

Secondly, despite Sri Lanka’s rich history of female leadership at the top and outstanding female education rates – including near parity between men and women in higher education, Sri Lanka’s female labour force participation (FLFP) rate has been persistently entrenched at a dismal 32%; the same as it was a decade ago, and falling among the lowest in South Asia.

Most importantly, research has shown that Sri Lanka can increase our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by as much as US$ 20 billion each year up to 2025, simply by advancing the cause of gender equality1. The question we must collectively ask ourselves this year is simple; can we afford to neglect this potential any longer?

Our hope this International Women’s Day is that in responding to Sri Lanka’s ongoing economic challenges, we also take the time to reflect on the significant contribution that women have made to the development of our nation and reach a firm consensus on the extensive measures we need to take to empower many more Sri Lankan women to reach their full potential.

Clearing a path to progress

Many of the obstacles faced by Sri Lankan women today are the product of generations of regressive attitudes and ideologies that have become entrenched to the point where today, they have created systemic failures. While these issues are certainly not unique to Sri Lanka, the solutions we create to address these issues will have to be.

One area that has the potential to have the highest impact is encouraging and supporting more women to become entrepreneurs. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s directive to the domestic banking sector to allocate 5% of its loan portfolio specifically for women-led enterprises was certainly a positive step in the right direction. The onus is now on our industry to carry forward this initiative with greater enthusiasm.

So far, approximately 3% of our total SME portfolio comprising 126,216 clients in total, has been channeled towards women-led enterprises. This means that in total, we have supported over 3,000 women-led SMEs to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams and gain an unprecedented level of control over their own finances. These businesses span diverse areas including everything home gardening, agriculture, food, fashion, packaging, and stationery.

In 2022, we aim to expand our SME lending by 20% Year-on-Year (YoY). In the process, we hope to further expand access to finance and opportunity for more women entrepreneurs. Capacity building will be another essential focus area, with a total of 40 structured capacity building programs already arranged over the course of the year, across the island.

HNB is also partnered with USAID for selected short-term SME development programs. Similarly, we partnered with ITC and the Sri Lankan Export Development Board to provide focused capacity building and financial literacy training to 100 women to support their aspirations to compete in international markets.

We are also partnering CIMA Sri Lanka to train and mentor women entrepreneurs, to help them unlock disproportionate growth potential in the SME space and leverage that growth to create more employment opportunities for women.

Over the year, HNB hopes to drive greater awareness and focus on these programs to ensure that funds and training are channeled to where they are most needed. However, while Sri Lankan women, on average, are better educated than their South Asian counterparts, they are less likely to use that education to secure economic advantages. Part of the problem is that our education system itself requires reform so that our next generation is better prepared with the hard and soft skills necessary to enter the workforce.

Similarly, we need to focus on expanding technical and vocational training to more women while simultaneously dispelling myths and biases against women taking up some jobs and not others.

Moving forward, Sri Lankans must join in creating a nurturing environment that is conducive for women entrepreneurs and address the specific pain-points that are most responsible for keeping women out of the workforce. These include practical investments in systems to ensure safe childcare, and transport.

Legal reforms are an important component, such as the domestic ratification of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention 190, which enshrines the right of everyone to a world of work, free from violence and harassment. However legal reform will only take us so far.

True progress requires that we also address the cultural dysfunction at the root of all gender-based discrimination. Because ultimately, change must start with each of us. In our homes, our schools, and our communities. Given that the stakes for economic development have never been higher, we must make sure that we get this right, to build a better, more equitable future that serves all Sri Lankans, regardless of their gender.

All News Advertisement

Business

David Pieris Automobiles opens Sri Lanka’s first GWM Flagship Experience Centre

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

Rohana Dissanayake, Group Chairman and Managing Director, David Pieris Group of Companies along with Mahesh Gunathilake, Director, David Pieris Automobiles (Private) cutting the ribbon to open GWM Flagship Experience Centre at the Access Tower, Union Place, Colombo

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)

Business

Sri Lanka’s culinary strengths engagingly explored

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

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

Business

MO Marketplace App: A space for women to sell in Sri Lanka

Published

3 hours ago

2026/06/9

Sahan Weerasooriya

The team behind the current success of 14,000 registered users

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.