The Business for Shared ProsperityProgrammeFourth Quarterly Bulletin

Welcome to the fourth Business for Shared Prosperity

(BSP) Programme Quarterly Bulletin. As the BSP grows

and evolves we are pleased to share with donors, stake-

holders and partner examples of achievements from

all six components working towards BSP programme

goals. The BSP aims to provide a sustainable route out

of poverty for people in Myanmar through increasing

incomes, creating jobs and unlocking the potential of

businesses. The programme works to build a stronger

environment to enable businesses to be more produc-

tive, inclusive and innovative, and equip poor people

with the tools to improve their productivity and resil-

ience. The BSP aims to make it easier for businesses

and entrepreneurs to compete fairly and facilitate the

participation of women and other excluded groups in

economic growth.

1. The Investment Climate and Competitiveness

Programme (ICCP), implemented by the International

Finance Corporation (IFC), co-funded by DFAT, aims

to improve the competitiveness and dynamism of the

private sector to increase investment and create jobs.

The programme provides technical assistance to the

private sector across seven private sector development

(PSD) themes: investment climate and policy reform;

trade facilitation and competitiveness; corporate gover-

nance; environmental and social standards; agricultural

productivity and quality; sustainable tourism develop-

ment; and off-grid solar product market development.

2. The DaNa Facility, managed by DAI Europe and

KPMG, is designed to be agile enough to meet a range

of PSD priorities within Myanmar, working across

priority sectors and regions throughout the country.

In conjunction with the overall BSP Programme, the

DaNa Facility focuses on four themes: business envi-

ronment reform, trade and competitiveness, gender

equality and social inclusion and inclusive and respon-

sible business.

3. The Financial Sector Development Project (FSDP),

implemented by the World Bank (WB), aims to expand

access to finance in Myanmar to reduce poverty and

promote shared prosperity by providing catalytic tech-

nical support to the Ministry of Planning and Finance

(MoPF) and Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) alongside

the WB’s $100 million IDA loan.

4. The Women’s Empowerment and Financial Inclu-

sion Project (WEFIP), implemented by the United

Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), aims

to increase women and girls’ awareness of, access to,

and use of agency over appropriate financial products

and services, with a focus on conflict-affected areas of

Myanmar.

5. The Trade and Investment Project (TIP), imple-

mented by the International Trade Centre (ITC) aims to

promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth

and decent work for Myanmar citizens through in-

creased trade and investment. It focuses on enhanc-

ing Myanmar’s trade competitiveness and supporting

promotion of inward investment to build productive

capacities at both Union and State and Regional levels.

6. The Capital Markets Development Project

(CMDP), implemented by the Asian Development

Bank (ADB), aims to create a better enabling environ-

ment to stimulate greater investment, encourage job

creation and growth, and contribute to a more equi-

table environment for local and international inves-

tors. The project supports the government’s efforts

to develop domestic capital markets, focusing on the

government bond market. Interventions help the gov-

ernment eliminate monetisation of the government

budget and stabilise the economy. CMDP will provide

a strong foundation for the private sector to mobilise

long-term alternative funding.

January - March 2019

IFC/DaNa – Respectful Workplaces Report

Completed and Disseminated Widely

The report on ‘Respectful Workplaces:’ Exploring the

costs of bullying and sexual harassment for businesses

in Myanmar was completed and launched on March

19th in Yangon. This report was produced jointly by the

IFC and DaNa, and was the culmination of a research

process into people’s experiences of sexual harassment

and bullying at work. A total of 26 companies took part

in the research from the agribusiness, finance, tourism

and retail sectors. The main findings of the report con-

cluded that sexual harassment affects all workplaces;

bullying is more common than sexual harassment; and

that both men and women experience bullying and

sexual harassment in Myanmar workplaces, though

their experiences differ. The report highlights the fact

that bullying and sexual harassment at work create sig-

nificant business costs, estimated at a 14% loss in pro-

ductivity solely due to ‘presenteeism’ (i.e. being at work

but not working effectively), a conservative figure that

does not include losses due to turnover, absenteeism,

recruitment and retraining, reputational risk, and risks

to employee safety. Since the report was launched, it

has been disseminated widely and DaNa and the IFC

continue to communicate the findings and recom-

mendations.

IFC ICCP – Sowing the Seeds for Sustainable

Livelihoods

Farmers from central Myanmar converged in great

numbers to attend fairs on popular locally grown crops,

such as tomatoes, green gram and sesame seeds, and

to get connected with a wider network of microfinance,

inputs, post-harvest and mechanisation solutions pro-

viders, buyers and renewable energy professionals.

Crop fairs in Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw attracted over

1,500 sesame and green gram farmers, private sec-

tor providers and government officials. During the

fairs, farmers not only learned about the best farming,

harvesting and selling practices, but also had a chance

to connect with exhibitors showcasing microfinance,

agri-inputs, post-harvest, mechanisation solutions and

solar energy products.

The fairs were organised as part of the Myanmar

Agricultural Inputs Project, implemented jointly by

IFC through the ICCP and Myanmar’s Department of

Agriculture (DoA). The overall aim of the fairs is to give

farmers a one-stop-shop experience through which

they can learn about the reforms implemented by the

DoA through the project, and get access to different

types of knowledge, market buyers and agriculture

services to improve productivity and help build sustain-

able livelihoods.

The Myanmar Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Pro-

gram aims to boost the productivity and profitability of

farmers through introducing sustainable farming prac-

tices. IFC is supporting the DoA to promote the Myan-

mar GAP protocols and guidelines for 15 priority crops

including tomatoes, sesame and green gram, among

others. They guide farmers on how to produce safe and

quality products for local and international markets.

IFC ICCP – Ring the Bell for Gender Equality

With the aim of raising awareness of gender equality

and to celebrate International Women’s Day, ICCP’s

Corporate Governance Project, the Securities and

Exchange Commission of Myanmar, and Yangon Stock

Exchange, arranged the third annual “Ring the Bell for

Gender Equality” event alongside 70 stock exchanges

worldwide.

The event gathered over 120 business leaders, inves-

tors, civil society members, and other key partners to

highlight the business case for gender equality. Ma

Cherry Trivedi, CEO of the Myanmar Institute of Direc-

tors (MIoD) and one of the discussion panelists spoke

passionately about the need for women to embrace

their careers and stop feeling guilty for not subscribing

to society’s expectations of women’s roles.

The Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative high-

lights the importance of gender equality to economic

growth and the power of the private sector to bridge

diversity gaps and lead by example. At a time when

nine out of ten jobs in developing countries are created

by the private sector—and when the women’s work-

force participation rate in many emerging markets

remains well below the 50 percent global average—

businesses have an opportunity to unleash enormous

untapped potential for their own advantage.

Women make up 52 percent of Myanmar’s popula-

tion. While a significant number of businesses in the

country are set up and led by women, only 59 percent

of women aged over 15 participate in employment, in

comparison to 84 percent of men. Myanmar is ranked

106th place on the Gender Inequality Index out of 160

countries.

DaNa Facility – Promoting Trade and Investment

DaNa organised the Chin State Investment and Prod-

uct Fair in partnership with MIFER, MIC, DICA, and

the Chin State Government from March 16th - 17th in

Yangon. Representatives from government ministries,

including key union ministers, regional chief ministers

and ministers, embassies, foreign and local chambers

of commerce, and individual investors participated.

The event presented investment opportunities and

provided a networking platform for potential inves-

tors to explore untapped investment opportunities

in Chin State. During the event, attended by approxi-

mately 1,200 people, four projects worth $54 million

were signed, including one large hydro-power project,

while many more opportunities were identified for

consideration. Through this initiative, the Chin State

Government promoted their state for the first time

ever, reaching an international audience with numer-

ous potential investment opportunities to improve

economic growth.

In addition, to support capacity development of the

Government of Myanmar (GoM) in trade and invest-

ment promotion, DaNa distributed the Investment

Promotion and Facilitation Handbook and delivered

capacity building to over 50 officials from State and Re-

gion Investment Committees. DaNa also participated

in the Invest Myanmar Summit 2019 from January 28th

- 29th, supporting delegations from six priority States/

Regions: Kayin, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Thanin-

tharyi.

DaNa Facility – Regional Farmers’ Development

Association (RFDA) Sesame Farmers Receive

A-Bank Loan

DaNa visited Magway and Yangon project sites in

January to work with ICCO, Network Activities Group

and the RFDA, under the Pulses, People, Profit and

Planet (P4) project, regarding their financial needs for

working capital. On April 10th, DaNa, RFDA and value

chain financing partner Ayerwaddy Farmers Develop-

ment Bank (A Bank) launched a first-of-its-kind input

financing programme for 3,405 farmers from nearly 60

villages in Magway Region. The total amount of credit

provided is 976,947,672 MMK (£491,882). Farmers will

pay 1.47% in interest per month through unsecured

loans. Under the financing programme organised by

TAF also presented the MBEI to State and Region

ministers at the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) in Nay

Pyi Taw. It was a preliminary step before conducting

nationwide dissemination explaining survey findings

and consolidating feedback from participants. The

event was led by the Union Minister and the Deputy

Minister from MoC, attended by Planning and Finance

Ministers from five states and regions and high-level

officials, including Permanent Secretaries, Director

Generals and Deputy Director Generals . Discussion

and feedback covered: disaggregation and registration

processes among different government agencies to

understand time and costs; considerations for inte-

grating smart city indicators; provision of the list of 101

indicators prior to the event so that participants could

discuss them appropriately; and elaboration of how

and with whom the survey was conducted.

Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business/DaNa

Facility – Promoting Employment Opportunities for

People with Disabilities

Building on MCRB’s work on promoting the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities in 2017-2018 and as follow-up

to the first multi-stakeholder workshop on Promoting

Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

in 2017, advocacy with MSWRR and publication of ‘Em-

ploying Persons with Disabilities – A Handbook for Em-

ployers in Myanmar’, MCRB has been actively engaged

in coordinating meetings and workshops organised by

MSWRR, especially from the perspective of promot-

ing inclusive workplace approaches. MCRB also sits on

two out of eight sub-committees promoting rights of

persons with disabilities.

In March, MCRB, AAR Japan and the International

Labour Organization (ILO), co-hosted a second multi-

stakeholder workshop on Promoting Employment

Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. The work-

shop was part of a joint action by the European Union,

ILO and the OECD on responsible supply chains in

six countries in Asia, including Myanmar, to promote

responsible business conduct regarding decent work,

environmental sustainability and respect for human

the three partners, RFDA-affiliated sesame farmers will

each open a bank account at A Bank, and then receive

loans for purchasing high-quality inputs required to

grow sesame. Input suppliers will be paid directly by

A Bank, who will then distribute the inputs to farmers.

Myint Myat Taw Win Company, a large local agricul-

tural enterprise, has agreed to purchase the sesame

at harvest time then remit farmer loan repayments

directly to A Bank. DaNa will explore the potential for

further pioneering similar activities for other crops in

the future.

The Asia Foundation/DaNa Facility – Myanmar

Business Environment Index (MBEI)

To strengthen subnational governance and improve

the business environment in Myanmar’s States and

Regions, the MBEI report assesses constraints affecting

Myanmar’s business environment at the subnational

level and identifies opportunities for reform. The Asia

Foundation (TAF) team presented the basic meth-

odology, initial findings, and preliminary ideas to the

GoM on how the results can be used by government

and business to improve the business environment in

Myanmar’s States and Regions. The participants felt

that the work harmonises with the government’s policy

on decentralising trade and investment promotion to

the States and Regions, and provided guidance on dis-

semination activities and messaging going forward.

rights, and was also supported by JICA and MCRB’s

core funders. Attended by over 100 participants, the

second workshop made great progress in garnering

support and commitment from the concerned Minis-

tries including MSWRR and the Ministry of Labour and

also increased participation from the business sector.

FSDP – Insurance Regulation and Reform

Significant milestones have been reached towards

improving Myanmar’s insurance regulatory and su-

pervisory capacity. In the insurance sector, the MoPF

announced the names of the five foreign insurers that

were invited to set up fully owned life insurance com-

panies. The entry of foreign insurers will not only bring

a much-needed boost to the country’s economy but

will also help in deepening the penetration of insur-

ance products in Myanmar’s rural markets, where the

penetration level is as low as 0.1%. Both reforms can be

traced to intensive technical assistance provided under

FSDP.

UNCDF WEFIP – Financial Literacy

Financial literacy and awareness is recognised as a

global constraint to financial inclusion. Without an un-

derstanding of basic financial concepts, people are not

well equipped to make decisions related to financial

management and new opportunities can easily lead to

high debt, defaults or insolvency. People who are finan-

cially literate have the ability to make informed finan-

cial choices regarding saving, investing, borrowing, and

more. Financial illiteracy particularly affects women

and girls in rural and conflict areas, who do not always

have the financial information, experience and educa-

tion to make informed financial decisions around the

selection and usage of financial products and services.

For instance, 62 percent of women in Myanmar be-

lieve that banking requires a certain income level to be

justified and 58 percent of women believe that unless

they are employed, they cannot open a bank account.

At the same time, over 50 percent of women feel that

not understanding, knowing how to use, or having

the confidence or skills for mobile money is a barrier

(UNCDF Power 2017).

In response to this challenge, UNCDF launched an in-

novation fund window to adapt existing solutions for

low-income women and to expand tools for teaching

digital and financial literacy for low-income women.

Through this funding window, the women’s economic

and financial inclusion project will facilitate new part-

nerships on both the supply and demand side and

new product development to enhance women and

girls’ financial capabilities and promote gender sensi-

tive financial products and services that address barri-

ers for financial inclusion.

UNCDF/DaNa – Financial Inclusion Roadmap

The Making Access Possible (MAP) “Finscope Myanmar

2018” Report finalised in 2018 formed the basis for the

Myanmar Financial Inclusion Roadmap 2018 – 2022

that was completed in March. The Roadmap prioritises

plans for promoting financial inclusion in Myanmar,

with key focus areas and themes. The Federal Regula-

tory Department of MoPF is the key “owner” of the

Roadmap, though it was shared with the Central Bank

of Myanmar as well as other government agencies. The

UNCDF team working on the Roadmap shared the

document with all interested development partners,

including DFID. The final version of the Roadmap in-

corporating comments from all relevant stakeholders

was submitted to the GoM for official approval. Once

approved, the Roadmap will guide the FRD’s Financial

Inclusion Secretariat in the future.

ITC – TIP Officially Launched

TIP was officially launched on March 4th in Yangon by

the Union Minister of Commerce, Directors General of

Myantrade and DICA, as well as the Secretary General

of the UMFCCI. The high participant turnout – 113 rep-

resentatives from the public and private sector – dem-

onstrated the interest of all stakeholders for TIP and its

coherent approach to developing trade, investment

and strengthening the private sector.

ITC TIP – Design Process Initiated for National

Export Strategy 2020-2025

Holding vast untapped potential for trade and invest-

ment development, Myanmar offers new economic

horizons for domestic and international companies.

The GoM has embarked on a process of modernising

economic policies, supporting the upgrade of produc-

tion techniques, as well as enabling the diversification

of products and export markets. Within this dynamic

context, during the quarter, TIP initiated support to the

GoM for updating its National Export Strategy (NES).

The new NES 2020-2025 will build on the previous NES,

while focusing on new challenges and opportunities

for Myanmar’s export competitiveness.

The importance of NES for the government was dem-

onstrated through the first high-level NES Symposium,

inaugurated by the Vice-President on March 15th. The

event brought together 171 public and private stake-

holders from Union level, different States and Regions,

as well as many development partners.

The NES Symposium provided a consultative forum for

stakeholders to discuss the current trade and export

performance of the country, present NES 2015-2019

implementation progress, and identify and prioritise

challenges hindering export competitiveness. Most

importantly, the open public-private dialogue pro-

vided the strategic orientation of a successful design of

Myanmar’s NES 2020-2025.

ITC TIP – Enabling Industry Level Public-Private Dialogue for Export Success

In addition to NES 2020-2025 Symposium, 11 NES

Sector-level working group (SWG) meetings were held

over three consecutive days to confirm the impor-

tance of the SWGs in steering industry development,

and strategic planning and implementation of pro-

grammes for ensuring sustainable growth of the NES

sectors.

If you have any questions or comments regarding the BSP programme or any of the components highlighted in this

bulletin, please contact the BSP Coordinator, Lauren Parker at: Lauren_Parker@danafacility.com.

The BSP programme is a project funded by the UK’s Department for International Development and is coordinated

by DAI Europe as the BSP Secretariat, working alongside the WBG and other partners. For more details on the pro-

gramme please visit: danafacility.com.

ADB - Capital Market Development Project

ADB assisted the government’s most recent bond auction with its first issuance of five-year bonds, increasing the

average time to maturity to the highest levels ever recorded. This is significant given the strong industry appetite for

longer term bonds. The project also assisted in providing inputs into the Government’s Bond Market Development

Master Plan anticipated to be launched by the end of 2019. With this plan in place, investors will have greater clarity

of the government’s capital market development agenda and enhanced confidence to invest in government bonds.

The project is also working towards the government’s and industry’s objective of establishing an industry associa-

tion focused on capital market development in Myanmar. Moving forward, the project will facilitate regular engage-

ments with industry and government partners on capital market development with a particular focus on obstacles to

greater market development.