Women invest in their families
Young Myanmar microentrepreneur invests in last-mile retail to support her daughter’s education
Myint Myint Moe, a 30-year old housewife, grew up in Laputta, Ayeyarwaddy Division — the famous Delta region of Myanmar. She has a nine-year old daughter. Three years ago, she and her family moved to Yangon, looking for better employment and a better life. They set up a home in Hlaingthayar Township, the largest and poorest township of Yangon, and a common landing point for the tens of thousands of people migrating to Yangon from the country-side every year.
In the months following the move, Myint Myint stayed home to care for her daughter and run her household. Before long it became evident that living in Yangon was much more expensive than living in the village. Her husband’s salary from selling motorcycle parts was only just enough for the family to get by. Her daughter began to attend school, and the additional annual school fees finally made it clear to Myint Myint Moe — if the family were to advance, Myint Myint Moe would need to find employment soon.
Entrepreneurship for the family
Women in poor households consistently save and reinvest in their families at incredibly high rates. When women are choosing where to invest, as much as 90% of all income streams typically go back into the needs of the family.
One year ago, Myint Myint decided to open her own shoe shop. She diligently saved up every extra bit of money for her own startup capital, and she set up a small stand in her neighborhood.
Her sales were initially good, but she thought there must be ways she could improve her shop. She heard about Opportunities NOW Myanmar from her friend and was very interested. She applied for STARTUP — a unique incubation experience designed for youth and women at the base of the pyramid — as soon as ONOW launched the early-stage entrepreneur initiative in Hlaingthayar.
Interactive Education
Myint Myint says,
I enjoyed the way ONOW teaches with activities and discussions. I’ve never taken a training like that before. Now I recommend to all of my friends to take the ONOW STARTUP course.
Myint Myint Moe’s market research during the program showed her that customers wanted more shoe styles to choose from. She recently chose to invest in diversifying her selection of shoes, and is waiting to see the results. We hope her customers will love the new options!
Myint Myint demonstrates an important truth — with a few key tools and some interactive education to strengthen their business models, women at all levels of society can launch businesses that benefit their families and the lives of those in the community.
Opportunities NOW is a base-of-the-pyramid incubation program that targets startups and early-stage microentrepreneurs in Myanmar. In less than five years of operation, ONOW has launched or expanded 150 enterprises, and trained more than 300 people in entrepreneurship and startup principles. The ONOW strategy emphasizes interactive training, access to finance, and mentoring focused on financial literacy.
