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.
