03/03/2026
Honored to join the International Women’s Day event organized by the Royal Norwegian Embassy today. 🌻
I had the opportunity to discuss as the Founder of Sunflower Natural Dye Textiles and share about the experiences of working with women creators and entrepreneurs across Myanmar their challenges, resilience, and the importance of building supportive platforms and partnerships for women to grow.
Grateful for the space to exchange ideas and discuss how we can create more opportunities, stronger collaboration, and a more inclusive environment for women in business.
Peaceful International Women’s Day to all the inspiring women everywhere. 💛
……………………………..
Challenges Facing Women Entrepreneurs in Myanmar
First of all, I would like to honor all women on International Women’s Day, I would also like to speak on behalf of many women who are not able to be here with us.
Over the past years, I have traveled across Myanmar also to IDPs camp and worked with many creators, artisans, and small business owners. Among them, there are many women entrepreneurs who are quietly building businesses in their communities. Whenever we meet, we often talk about our challenges, our needs, and how we can find solutions together.
One thing we clearly see in Myanmar is that even though women make up a large part of the population, leadership positions in businesses and other fields are still mostly held by men. Women often carry multiple responsibilities like manage the household, take care of children, and at the same time try to earn an income.
Because of cultural traditions, many women cannot move beyond these roles easily. As a result, women often heavier responsibilities than men. But at the same time, this also shows how strong and capable women we are.
However, when women try to grow their businesses, these responsibilities become barriers. Women may not be able to work full time, because they still have family responsibilities. Meanwhile, men are often able to dedicate their full time to their work. This creates a gap in opportunities and productivity.
Another major challenge is access to finance. In many families, property is registered under the husband’s name, as he is considered the head of the household. Because of this, women often do not have assets they can use as collateral for loans or grants. Even when they are able to borrow money, it becomes difficult to repay if they cannot fully focus on their businesses.
There are also challenges related to business registration. Financial institutions often require formal registration and ownership documents. But in uncertain situations, many small entrepreneurs question whether registering their businesses actually provides protection or security. These uncertainties make it difficult for small businesses to grow sustainably.
Another reality is that many small businesses are run by only one person. often have to do everything themselves like production, marketing, accounting, and sales. Because of this, important tasks like financial records or business planning are sometimes delayed.
Networking is also a challenge. Many women sometimes cannot attend networking events because they are busy with family responsibilities.
And also we cannot ignore the issue of safety. For many women, safety is still a major concern. Traveling alone, going out at night, or visiting other regions can feel unsafe. These realities limit women’s mobility and opportunities.
So if we truly want women to participate equally in the economy, we must also address safety and security.
Psychological safety is as important as financial support.
So important question we should ask is: how can we reduce these barriers?
First, we need to encourage more equal sharing of responsibilities at home. When household responsibilities are shared more equally, women can participate more actively in economic activities.
Second, we need flexible ways of working that allow women to manage both family and business responsibilities.
We, women ourselves also need to step forward, build our confidence, manage our time and pursue all opportunities.
Third, we need stronger collaboration. Instead of one person doing everything alone, we need platforms where people with different skills can work together and support each other.
This is the idea behind SheCreates. We imagined it as a platform that connects creators, especially women entrepreneurs, to markets and opportunities.
Many creative people are very good at making products, but they are not confident in marketing or selling. Their strength is creativity. Platforms like SheCreates can help introduce their products to the market, connect them with buyers, and support the sales process.
But it is not only about selling. It is also about creating a space where creators can discuss challenges, find solutions together, and receive guidance on how to grow their businesses.
In difficult times like these, collaboration is even more important. Solving problems together is much faster and more effective than trying to solve them alone. That is why we need more platforms and ecosystems that support collaboration. For me, even I have retired from SheCreates last year as a Co-founder and president, I will never stop my collaboration with many women. I am now working with women in Mandalay and will work with women in Dawei.
We have also been working with partners to explore new approaches, such as Social Impact Investment. In this model, the focus is not on interest payments, but on creating positive impact in communities. Entrepreneurs do not need collateral or formal registration to receive support. The main condition is that their work benefits society.
We also provide training on social enterprise practices. Our belief is that when communities practice responsible and ethical systems from within, strong and positive change can happen even without strict regulations.
In this critical time, collaboration and mutual respect are essential. If women and men, small businesses and larger institutions can work together, we can move forward more effectively.
To conclude, I believe we need to reflect on past practices that did not work well and learn from them. If we are willing to change, collaborate, and support each other, we can build a more inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous future.
Thank you.
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