Unleashing Entrepreneurship's Potential in Myanmar
Transcript of Unleashing Entrepreneurship's Potential in Myanmar
7232019 Unleashing Entrepreneurships Potential in Myanmar
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THE economy requires structural
change and technological catch-up for
growth to be inclusive in MyanmarEconomic policy and development part-
ners need to promote entrepreneurship
in order to unleash the potential of a
growing private sector Whatrsquos morethe stranglehold of the current politi-
cal elites must be eased and economic
policy must benefit all
In the past economic policy has
been used to reinforce the dominanceof the predatory elite and weaken the
entrepreneurial groups that could
threaten the status quo if they became
too affluent While some people argue
that working with the crony companiesis the only way to quickly develop the
economy others insist that it does the
opposite But another option is often
overlooked ndash unleashing the potentialof entrepreneurship to build up a new
class of businesspeople which can have
a multiplier effect on the economy
There is substantial unrealised po-tential within Myanmarrsquos private sec-tor that just needs a more favourable
environment and targeted support to
flourish Decades of restrained energy
talent and aspirations are just now be-ing released People around the country
are eager to seize the moment to create
a future for themselves and their fami-
lies by starting a new business
Current activities encouraging en-trepreneurship and start-up activities
are successfully focusing on organising
events doing trainings and basically in-
vesting in catalytic individuals One of
the most compelling ways to help firms
succeed is by increasing the power of
the linkages and networks they are
part of Networks support indigenousand private systems of learning so that
entrepreneurs can be encouraged to
learn from their peers Many business
ecosystems bypass weak regulatory en-
vironments by creating private capacityfor regulation and enforcement within
the network
But there is a need to think system-
atically about what it takes to supporta start-up ecosystem To flourish entre-
preneurial activity requires a concen-
tration of talent infrastructure capital
and networks ndash key success factors of
a start-up ecosystem as epitomised bySilicon Valley Additional research on
entrepreneurship is needed to better
understand the interplay of entrepre-
neurial characteristicsand the businessenvironment in Myanmar
A great opportunity for levelling the
playing field is the fast rising usage of
ICT in Myanmar Mobile technology es-
pecially is generating new possibilities
for entrepreneurs to change the local business landscape by opening up new
markets and finding new innovative
ways to compete within the established
power structuresThe disruptive force of ICT entre-
preneurship may be a chance to bring
innovation to sectors that otherwise
will be dominated by connected com-panies for years to come But the gov-
ernment holds the key to ICT infra-
structure development and will play a
decisive role in shaping the direction
of the industry and its potential for in-novative disruption
ICT is also holding great promise for
deepening financial access in the coun-
try ICT offers new ways to finance forlocal people and enterprises that previ-
ously had no access to flexible financing
due to rigid banking regulations and
the information monopolies of govern-ment and connected businesses ICT
offers innovative ways to open up the
financial sector and put private capital
to work where it is needed most
Putting aside the regulatory is-
sues new financial arrangements
like business angels crowd financing
start-up equity funds and venturecapital can be mobilised to provideentrepreneurs with targeted financial
solutions outside the banking sector
Waiting for the current banking sys-
tem to provide effective services toSMEs will take years to come Only a
substantial shift in government pol-
icy can address the systemic failure
affecting access to finance for SMEs
An interesting phenomenon ofMyanmarrsquos entrepreneurship scene is
the unusual strong presence of social
enterprises This is driven by a large
number of young people with a busi-
ness education a plethora of social is-
sues and the governmentrsquos increasing
acceptance and support of independ-
ent social businesses In an environ-
ment like Myanmar social enterpris-es can achieve social impact more
efficiently than the government more
sustainably and creatively than not-
for-profits and more generously than business Its potential to contribute to
inclusive growth is huge
But for current social enterprises to
grow into a sustainable economic force
substantial challenges have to be over-come Most of the social enterprises
are owner-driven focusing on small
niche or regional markets with limited
growth potential While they can makea big impact in a short amount of time
by focusing on niche markets in the
long-term they will need to transform
from niche to mass markets develop
repeatable business models improvefunding and develop into professional
run businesses
To support the rise of the social en-
terprise sector beyond its nascent stage
more systematic and long-term support with increased cooperation between
government development partners
and enterprises will be necessary
Development partners in Myanmarhave a responsibility to ensure that a
favourable business environment exist
for all private sector actors A ldquobusiness-
as-usualrdquo approach will not be enoughto generate the higher and more inclu-
sive growth patterns needed to make
substantial and sustainable inroads
into reducing poverty They therefore
need to be aware of the key constraintsfor different private sector entities to
contribute to broader growth
The momentum created by currentreforms is unlikely to be sustained un-
less non-connected enterprises find
the space to innovate and operate on a
level playing field While there are well-documented examples of crony com-
panies there are also companies who
succeeded by identifying and exploiting
legitimate opportunities albeit within
a climate of corruption They are veryeffective at recognising opportunities
mobilising resources managing risks
crafting compelling strategies and
building strong business modelsThese companies show innovative
ways of working in this country that are
well worth being replicated and scaled
up as best practices They may well
define a new age for entrepreneurshipand innovation in Myanmar that could
redefine the paradigm of the economy
Entrepreneurship can help to un-
leash some of the countryrsquos great poten-tial but whether the economic devel-
opment will be more broad-based will
ultimately depend on the role SMEs will
play in futureSubstantial work is needed to de- velop targeted support regulations in-
vestment and policy initiatives that are
actively designed to level the playing
field and help all businesses to equallygrow and prosper
Henrich Dahm is an independent private
sector development expert based in Yangon
who specialises in SME development
entrepreneurship development incubators
and business development services He
has 25 years of experience in Southeast
Asia especially in Vietnam
Unleashing entrepreneurshiprsquos potentialHENRICH DAHM
henrichdahmgmailcom
There is a need to
think systematically
about what it takes
to support a start-up
ecosystem
OPINION
32BusinessViews THE MYANMAR TIMES OCTOBER 27 983085 NOVEMBER 2 2014