By Radhika Wijesekera –
February 20, 2024 – Myanmar opened its doors to the world as late as 2013, making it the last frontier in Asia to take up many aspects of economic advancement.
Myanmar’s late entrance into the open world came with advantages as well as disadvantages. Unlike other nations that went through the full evolution of technological evolution, particularly that of information technology, Myanmar simply leapfrogged all of that and adopted smartphones right away. With the early entrance of Telenor (a Norwegian telecom company), Ooredoo (a Qatari telecommunications company), and later MyTel, the state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) was given healthy competition in the mobile sector, which gave way to optimal pricing, better services, and expanded network coverage across the country. Indeed, the nation reached a smartphone adoption rate of over 80%, with a SIM penetration rate of 105%, in a very short span of time.
In addition, the country has a large population of 53 million, more than 50% of whom are under the age of 30. This young population is expected to be energetic, innovative, creative, and vibrant, while the opportunities that come with exposure to the Internet and social media will entice them to get more involved in the economy.
Myanmar’s startup ecosystem has been growing slowly but steadily. For any startup ecosystem to flourish, it needs entrepreneurs, talent, investment, and support from regulators, and not all are readily available.
Myanmar also faces a lack of exposure and experience and a lower level of formal education and training, which is enjoyed by other countries in the region. Finding skilled talent is difficult, while finding those with a “done it before” qualification is rare. Many local investors tend to play it safe and focus on the more familiar brick-and-mortar businesses such as jewellery, food and beverages, and retail.
Phandeeyar, a tech seed accelerator based in the commercial capital of Yangon, was launched in 2015, to provide funding, training, and mentorship support to emerging startups. Today, Phandeeyar runs more than 100 events annually to promote the local startup ecosystem. With this support, many young people are joining startups and even establishing their own businesses. A few years later, Seedstars entered the scene.
Meanwhile, several high-profile investments came into the country, including $ 30m into the local ISP startup Frontiir by CDC UK. Ant Financial also came into Myanmar by investing over $ 70m in Wave Money, a local fintech startup.
Now, over a decade later, Myanmar is expected to see its first truly regional startup within the next three years, in the midst of the necessary infrastructure coming up. Wave Money may become the country’s first unicorn.
Myanmar’s biggest challenges lie primarily in the sectors of healthcare, education, and financial services, all of which are underserved by both public and private enterprises. Anyone who can make a positive change in one of these three sectors will have the opportunity of becoming a unicorn while uplifting the livelihoods of Myanmar’s people.