Myanmar

Resilient Women Reinvent Small Business

When her shipment of clothes vanished somewhere between Yangon and Meik, the young online shop owner was devastated. “There is nothing illegal inside; it’s all just clothes,” she wrote in frustration on Facebook. Another woman who resells imported fragrances to make ends meet, watched her shipment from the United States get confiscated at the port. “I have a huge loss,” she said tearfully.

Since the coup in 2021, such stories have become commonplace in Myanmar. The economy has contracted, jobs have disappeared and many people are leaving the country. Those left behind are scrambling to survive, opening small online shops, sewing-workshops or family-run stalls. Increasingly, women become more obvious breadwinners as their husbands, brothers and sons are subject to conscription.

Survival is not simple. Small businesses have been hit hard by tighter controls on imports and exports. Foreign exchange is closely monitored by authorities. A recent election announcement has done little to ease restrictions. Business owners have to restructure supply chains and search for alternatives. It is predicted that even more violence may take place to show opposition against the junta once the election is drawing near.

Some entrepreneurs have turned to creative solutions. “I couldn’t wait for the containers to arrive to keep my business going. I set up a refill station at supermarkets for my buyers,” a honey seller says. “Otherwise, I would be bankrupt. I am grateful towards the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), because this was the idea I have developed after witnessing Thailand’s entrepreneurial landscape on FNF´s study and exchange visit in Thailand.” A textile tailor launched a recycling workshop to transform old clothes into new products after flooding and earthquakes damaged weaving looms.

“I am a creator and I thought if I continue making my products passionately, I would be okay. But it’s not the case now. Only at this workshop did I learn my stories are worth telling,” shared a designer who struggles to sell her Myanmar style ready-to-wear-line amidst resource scarcity.  

International partners have provided limited support to Myanmar. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation stepped in and organized workshops and exchange visits that bring women entrepreneurs together. In those spaces, they share ideas, learn new strategies and draw strength from one another.  This approach has supported many women entrepreneurs in Myanmar at a time when political turmoil at home has left many feeling isolated and discarded.

Globally, small and medium enterprises account for more than 90% of businesses according to the World Trade Organizations. They have struggled to survive and expand their businesses. Practicality, transformation and stronger business frameworks are keys to boost the resilience of the SME businesses. Women-led businesses in Myanmar mirror similar challenges and solutions, but under far harsher conditions.

 “I have no other choice but to keep going. There is no other business opportunity,” the perfume seller said. “It is quite a relief to know that I am not alone in fighting this battle. At the FNF workshop, I came to realize that there are many others who experience similar hardship and try to keep fighting to save their businesses. I feel encouraged and empowered by their kind words and the trainers’ guidance.”

For those brave women in Myanmar, resilience is not just an aspiration but a survival strategy. They exhaust every option to keep their business alive while waiting for the return to democracy where they can run their businesses freely and safely.

*Hnin Wint Naing is a communications officer at the Southeast and East Asia Regional Office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.