Myanmar set for more young entrepreneurs
Myanmar set for more young entrepreneurs
Beauty Crib TV, 28 Oct 2014
URL: http://beautycribtv.com/news/myanmar-set-for-more-young-entrepreneurs
YANGON: An unfavorable environment, lack of entrepreneurial culture and no capital – these are the main problems that budding entrepreneurs face in Myanmar. But as the country continues to open up, the Young Myanmar Entrepreneurs Association expects to see more people starting their own businesses. Today, the association has some 300 members but expects some 1,500 by 2016.
Htun Htun Naing, 39, started his first business selling potato chips 13 years ago, but it failed just 8 months later. He then went on to start several other business ventures, which were also unsuccessful. "My father said, ‘You are crazy, so you will lose your money.’ We've been taught to be salaried men - see all the family and friends, all the people are salaried men. There's no room to be an entrepreneur and so for Myanmar people, they don't want to take risks,” he said.
But Htun Htun Naing persevered and continued to take risks. Today, he is the owner and managing director of marketing and business management company Blue Ocean Operating Management, which has a market cap of US$25 million, and provides call-centre services to multinational companies such as Samsung and Telenor. He is also this year's ASEAN Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Award winner.
"My mindset is, why don't I become an entrepreneur like other big companies. The second thing is, if I'm the entrepreneur, I can contribute to my society, I can contribute to my people,” he said.
Many entrepreneurs in Myanmar have started out with no help and guidance, which is why they feel more can be done to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit there.
Under the Start-UP programme, which is a partnership between Channel NewsAsia and the Lithan University College in Yangon, young entrepreneurial hopefuls in the region learn the fundamentals of setting up and running a business. Organisers will select a participant from Myanmar for the programme, who will receive US$2,000 and compete against other regional budding entrepreneurs in Singapore for the big prize - funding and a mentorship from angel investors.
Aung Soe Tha, vice president of the Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Association, said: "The association is now setting up one incubation centre. Under the incubation centre, the association teaches the start-up how to start a business, and how they market their products and how they sell well for their products. The second thing that the association is doing is helping the start-up to meet and match with the venture capitalists who want to invest in them so that the start-up can grow very well. “
The association also wants the Myanmar government to introduce tax reductions and favourable policies to encourage more entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.
Htun Htun Naing, 39, started his first business selling potato chips 13 years ago, but it failed just 8 months later. He then went on to start several other business ventures, which were also unsuccessful. "My father said, ‘You are crazy, so you will lose your money.’ We've been taught to be salaried men - see all the family and friends, all the people are salaried men. There's no room to be an entrepreneur and so for Myanmar people, they don't want to take risks,” he said.
But Htun Htun Naing persevered and continued to take risks. Today, he is the owner and managing director of marketing and business management company Blue Ocean Operating Management, which has a market cap of US$25 million, and provides call-centre services to multinational companies such as Samsung and Telenor. He is also this year's ASEAN Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Award winner.
"My mindset is, why don't I become an entrepreneur like other big companies. The second thing is, if I'm the entrepreneur, I can contribute to my society, I can contribute to my people,” he said.
Many entrepreneurs in Myanmar have started out with no help and guidance, which is why they feel more can be done to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit there.
Under the Start-UP programme, which is a partnership between Channel NewsAsia and the Lithan University College in Yangon, young entrepreneurial hopefuls in the region learn the fundamentals of setting up and running a business. Organisers will select a participant from Myanmar for the programme, who will receive US$2,000 and compete against other regional budding entrepreneurs in Singapore for the big prize - funding and a mentorship from angel investors.
Aung Soe Tha, vice president of the Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Association, said: "The association is now setting up one incubation centre. Under the incubation centre, the association teaches the start-up how to start a business, and how they market their products and how they sell well for their products. The second thing that the association is doing is helping the start-up to meet and match with the venture capitalists who want to invest in them so that the start-up can grow very well. “
The association also wants the Myanmar government to introduce tax reductions and favourable policies to encourage more entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.