Business

Trying to make Sense of what is going on in the World?

Published

5 years ago

2021/02/7

This is Your Answer

As we adapt to a new norm, the world as we know it is more fragmented than ever before and demands systemic change to overcome its challenges. Simon Anholt, founder of the Good Country Project breaks down how we can make that change by being “good”. Good people, good business, good countries make up a good world, and in his podcast conversation with tea grower, and Dilmah Tea CEO Dilhan C. Fernando, Simon shares how to reassess and refocus at the onset of paradigm shift; an opportunity for businesses and communities to make the necessary adjustments now for a more sustainable future.

Defining “Good”

Simon Anholt, author of ‘The Good Country Question’ and the founder of the ‘Good Country Index’, must know the meaning of the word “Good”. However, he doesn’t define it traditionally. It is a word beyond a single definition, a word which actually defines a holistic vision. “Good” is the opposite of selfish, not good, the opposite of bad. The world is in turmoil today because of the introspective nature and the microscopic vision of people which affects the way we think, the way we lead and the way we are governed. The root cause of our challenges from Climate change to pandemics, small arms proliferation to the abuse of human rights links to our humanness or lack thereof. It isn’t simply to do the right thing by your own people. The responsibility must be wider to contribute to our collective wellbeing, including the global commons, the environment, the planet and the rest of the world. It’s simple. How people behave, individually and collectively defines “Good”.

Education is always the answer to every social and economic problem…

When the problem exists amongst the people the solution too lies within and must be unravelled. Human behaviour is woven into every individual based on an individualized experience of education, culture and upbringing. It can exacerbate the challenges we face or contribute towards solving it. In ‘The Good Country Project’, Simon calls for a new global compact on educational values, virtues and principles, a universal upheaval of education systems around the world to teach values that will build a new generation that will run towards the global challenges instead of running away from them.

This will enable young citizens to be suitably armed to face the challenges of the age they live in and tackle the present day challenges. It could create a generation of Good citizens that are able to start fixing things in just one generation. ‘Social Engineering’ can singularly save humanity from its own destructive instinct. Our world is truly globalized, and its citizens are interconnected and interdependent. What goes on in Sri Lanka has an impact on every other country on Earth. The next generation must learn to think differently and behave differently.

Collaboration: focusing on the system

While addressing the challenges ahead are self-evidently greater than any one individual and or even individual country, to make sensible progress it is inevitable that people, communities, businesses, governments and countries work together, consistently and continuously to change the culture from fundamentally competitive to fundamentally collaborative according to Simon, who has advised the presidents, prime ministers, and government officials of fifty-six countries, helping them to engage more imaginatively and effectively with the international community and is accredited with being the founder of the concepts of nation brands and place brands, seeing them as being “simply another manifestation of how obsessed countries have become with their competitive edge, instead of focusing their energies on the system of which they are a part, and on which we all utterly depend”.

Coopetition: cooperative competition

In the 1970s, businesses began to demonstrate that it’s perfectly possible to compete and to collaborate at the same time. Coopetition was a buzzword that originated in the Japanese auto industry which proved that the best way to drive a market towards growth is to have companies both competing against each other in an honorable way and collaborating to build a more efficient and effective marketplace. It demonstrates that human beings are still allowed to compete, which is a very valuable and very fundamental part of their nature, but also collaborate on the essentials in such a way that they don’t destroy each other or the marketplace as a result. Businesses and corporate bodies must advocate for coopetition within sectors, amongst sectors and on the lands on which they operate. “So that experiment of coopetition, I would argue, is about 30 years overdue between governments. And that’s one of the things we need to see now” urges Simon.

A Good Corporate/Business

A Business has a direct influence over the lives of nearly as many people as governments do. It is the simple idea that it’s not enough to make good products and sell them at a good price for a company to earn its right to inhabit the space it inhabits on the planet. Every business must understand its role and responsibility within the shared system, in a society, to the land on which it operates and as a stakeholder it is a common obligation.

We have to see the mandate of people in power, whether that’s within corporations or within government or within society. “You’re responsible for your own people. Yes. And for every single man, woman, child and animal on the planet, whether you like it or not, you’re responsible for your own premises in your own territory. Yes. And for every inch of the earth’s surface and the atmosphere above it and the soil beneath it, whether you like it or not, and if you don’t like it, you shouldn’t be in a position of power or authority because that is the rule of life on Earth today, whether we like it or not. And the sooner people begin to understand that, the sooner we’ll get the right people aspiring to positions of power and responsibility because they accept that their sphere of influence as leaders, their sphere of responsibility, rather, is greater than their sphere of influence.”

– Simon Anholt

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Business

Champa Stores Marks 70 Years of Trusted Service in Kandy

Published

57 mins ago

2026/03/22

Thilina Walpola

Employees of Champa Stores in Kandy

A longstanding fixture in Kandy’s commercial landscape, Champa Stores marks its 70th anniversary this year, underscoring a legacy built on trust, reliability and consistent quality across a diverse range of products and services.

Founded in 1956 by Wimaladasa Weeraratne, the business traces its origins to a modest beginning when three brothers from Matara relocated to Kandy in the 1950s in search of opportunity. Their entrepreneurial drive would go on to shape a lasting contribution to the city’s commercial life.

While Wimaladasa established Champa Stores, his brothers carved out their own successful ventures. Dharmadasa Weeraratne founded Devon, while Daya Weeraratne established Bakehouse. Both enterprises have since become well-known names in the city’s hospitality and bakery sectors, with Devon further expanding to include the The Grand Kandyan Hotel. Today, all three businesses continue to operate under the stewardship of the family’s next generation.

Over the decades, Champa Stores has evolved into a prominent retail and service hub, offering a wide selection of products ranging from mobile phones and laptops to audio equipment, accessories and sports goods. Its printing division, in particular, has earned a strong reputation for delivering high-quality services in Kandy.

Despite its growth, the business has retained the personal touch that has endeared it to generations of customers. Longtime patrons point to knowledgeable staff, dependable after-sales service and a customer-focused approach as key factors behind its enduring appeal.

Currently employing over 50 staff members, the business is managed by Chapa Weeraratne, representing the second generation of family leadership.

As it celebrates seven decades in operation, Champa Stores stands as one of Kandy’s enduring family-run enterprises—demonstrating that a reputation built on trust and service can successfully span generations.

By S.K Samaranayake

Business

Dialog Voted Service Brand and Telecommunication Brand of the Year at SLIM-KANTAR People’s Awards 2026

Published

57 mins ago

2026/03/22

Thilina Walpola

Dialog Axiata PLC, Sri Lanka’s #1 connectivity provider, announced that it has been recognised as the ‘Service Brand of the Year’ for the 5th time and the ‘Telecommunication Brand of the Year’ for the 15th consecutive year at the SLIM-KANTAR People’s Awards 2026, held on 18 March 2026. Voted by Sri Lankans through a nationwide consumer survey, the recognition reflects the continued preference for Dialog’s services and the trust placed in the brand across the country.

Since its inception in 2007, the SLIM-KANTAR People’s Awards have been based on consumer sentiment across multiple categories, recognising brands and individuals through public perception as an independent measure of brand affinity.

Supun Weerasinghe, Director / Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “We are grateful for this continued confidence, which reinforces the responsibility we carry in serving millions of customers across the country. As we continue to evolve our services and digital platforms, our focus remains on delivering consistent, high-quality experiences while staying true to our purpose of empowering and enriching Sri Lankan lives and enterprises.”

As a recognition shaped by the voice of consumers across the country, these accolades reflect Dialog’s continued relevance in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, underscoring its role in supporting the connectivity needs of individuals, homes and businesses across Sri Lanka.

Business

ISRAs of Sri Lanka – Protecting Hidden Shark and Ray Hotspots

Published

1 hour ago

2026/03/22

Thilina Walpola

Palk Bay ISRA

When you think of sharks in Sri Lanka, your mind probably goes to the sleek blacktip reef sharks gliding through the reefs of Pigeon Island. But what most people don’t realise is that Sri Lanka is home to over 100 species of sharks and rays—ranging from reef dwellers and open-ocean giants to mysterious deep-sea, with some juvenile bull sharks being found even in freshwater!. They’re scattered across almost every part of the coastline, from coral reefs and estuaries to muddy lagoons and inland waterways. Yet despite their presence, these fascinating creatures remain deeply misunderstood and largely unprotected in national conservation efforts.

Chances are, if you’ve eaten karawala (dried fish) in Sri Lanka, you’ve possibly eaten shark—without even knowing it. Shark meat often ends up in local markets with no species names, and no questions asked. But here’s the catch: unlike fast-growing fish like sardines or mackerel, most sharks and rays grow slowly, mature late, and have very few offspring. Some only give birth once every couple of years. That means that their populations are usually precarious and they are sensitive even to small-scale fishing operations, which push their populations into serious decline. And in Sri Lanka, while vessel sizes are smaller in comparison to many developed countries, the number of vessels combined with their fishing techniques has resulted in the depletion, and in the case of sawfishes, a likely local extinction.

That’s where Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) come in. ISRAs are a global science-based tool designed to designate places that matter most for sharks, rays, and chimaeras. They aren’t marine protected areas and don’t come with legal restrictions—but they highlight critical habitats based on rigorous scientific criteria. These include areas used for breeding, feeding, migration, or home to rare, threatened, or range-restricted species.

In 2024, after a thorough review and vetting process, five (of the seven) proposed areas from Sri Lanka were formally designated as ISRAs

Bathalangunduwa Island, located on the fringes of the shallow coastal Puttalam Lagoon and off the coast of Wilpattu National Park in northwestern Sri Lanka, qualifies as an ISRA based on the presence of the threatened Winghead Shark (Eusphyra blochii). This area meets two ISRA criteria: it supports a vulnerable species and functions as a reproductive habitat.

Palk Bay, a shallow, semi-enclosed water body shared between India and Sri Lanka, qualifies as an ISRA due to the presence of multiple important species. These include the threatened Shorttail Whipray (Maculabatis bineeshi), the range-restricted Sharpnose Guitarfish (Glaucostegus granulatus), and reproductive populations of the Grey Sharpnose Shark (Rhizoprionodon oligolinx). This was one of the few trans-boundary ISRAs covering both Indian, and Sri Lankan waters.

: Punnakuda ISRA

: Pigeon Island ISRA

: Pasikuda & Kalkudah ISRA

: Baththalangunduwa ISRA

Pasikudah & Kalkudah, a coastal stretch in Sri Lanka’s Batticaloa District, is known for its coral reefs and nearshore shark activity. This ISRA qualifies due to the presence of threatened and range-restricted species, such as the Stripenose Guitarfish (Acroteriobatus variegatus).

Punnakuda Canyon, a deep-sea canyon located just offshore from Pasikudah & Kalkudah and beyond the boundaries of the coastal ISRA, qualifies based on the presence of threatened and range-restricted deep-sea species, including the Indian Swellshark (Cephaloscyllium silasi).

Pigeon Island, the only ISRA in Sri Lanka that overlaps with a Marine Protected Area—the Pigeon Island Marine National Park—qualifies due to the presence of threatened species and undefined aggregations, notably the Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus).

These areas are already designated ISRAs. In addition to this Sri Lanka also has two “Areas of Interest”; Koddiyar Bay and Hikkaduwa.

While these ISRAs don’t enforce protection on their own, except for Pigeon Island, which happens to overlap with an already established National Park, they’re a vital starting point. They help guide where marine protected areas might be placed, where fishing regulations could be refined, and where development should tread carefully. For Sri Lanka, ISRAs offer a powerful chance to align conservation and fisheries planning before it’s too late.

Most importantly, ISRAs are created using available scientific knowledge. Organisations like Blue Resources Trust (BRT) were able to contribute to the designation of ISRA’s due to long-term monitoring of shark and ray fisheries across the country. BRT has built the largest dataset on Sri Lankan sharks and rays, thanks to contributions from the Tokyo Cement Group, the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), the Marine Conservation and Action Fund (MCAF) of the New England Aquarium, the Hong Kong Ocean Park Conservation Foundation (OPCFHK), the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund, amongst others.

By designating our ISRAs, Sri Lanka now has the recognition to make smarter, science-led decisions for the ocean’s most vulnerable species.

As shark and ray populations decline under pressure from overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change, knowing where they still have a chance to thrive is the first step toward saving them. Through ISRAs, Sri Lanka can take the lead in showing how conservation and coastal livelihoods can go hand in hand.

To explore ISRA maps and learn more, visit: https://sharkrayareas.org