The second edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Myanmar got underway on November 16, featuring six free events hosted across Yangon, including seminars, training and networking events aimed at helping entrepreneurs to develop throughout the city.
GEW Myanmar, which will run until November 22, is hosted by Project Hub Yangon with six partner organisations – German development agency (GIZ), The British Council, Building Markets, Serge Pun Associates, Opportunities Now, and Ringier AG.
“Project Hub Yangon and all of the GEW partner organisations work hard all year to support entrepreneurs in Myanmar, but GEW is a chance for us to collaborate, gain momentum and bring more attention to problems entrepreneurs are facing in Myanmar,” Peter Silvester, co-founder of Project Hub Yangon, told Myanmar Business Today.
“By getting more organisations involved this year we can begin to build a strong support network that Myanmar entrepreneurs can rely on to develop their businesses,” he said.
“GEW is a fantastic opportunity for entrepreneurs in Myanmar where they can learn and share best practices throughout the activities organised during the week,” Mi Mi Myo Win of the British Council said.
GEW Myanmar was officially launched with a networking event, co-organised by GIZ, at Yangon’s Alfa hotel. This was followed by a hosting session “Training Entrepreneurship at Bottom of the Pyramid” organised by Opportunities Now.
On November 19, Project Hub Yangon will be hosting its second Investor Pitch Night, where five Myanmar start-ups will pitch their business ideas to a room full of investors, marking the end of their Hub Fellowship, a five-month business incubation programme sponsored by Ringier AG.
The project saw a number of Myanmar entrepreneurs hone their business skills to develop ideas for their own businesses, which ranged from a business magazine to Myanmar snacks.
One of Myanmar’s most prominent business groups Serge Pun Associatates (SPA) will launch its SPA Start prgramme on November 20, which presents an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to meet directors at SPA who are interested in helping brainstorm ideas for new companies.
The following day, Building Market, an international NGO which has an office in Yangon, will host a day-long event “Breaking Barriers To Business Growth: A Forum for Local SMEs” to discuss issues that businesses in Myanmar face as they develop and build their operations. The event will see a number of local business and policy leaders speak, including managing director of CityMart, Daw Win Win Tiny, director of SMID Development Centre, Daw Aye Aye Win, and Dr Aung Tun Thet, economic adviser to President Thein Sein.
The final event of the week is an event hosted by the British Council, which will discuss responsible business, and will be held at the British Council Library on November 21 from 6.30pm.
Silvester said: “It’s exciting to be a part of a global movement and to think that from Yangon to Dubai to Washington DC there are initiatives taking place to inspire entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs during this week.”
