Sondang Grace Sirait meets the individuals working alongside Opportunities NOW, a social enterprise incubator based in Yangon. Opportunities NOW was featured in the 1st edition of Myanmore Magazine in November of 2016.

2. 30
indepth
31
Sustainable Enterprise
Opportunities
NOW:ABetter
TomorrowNow
Sondang Grace Siraitmeetstheindividuals
workingalongsideOpportunitiesNOW,asocial
enterpriseincubatorbasedinYangon.
ThandarWin’seyeslitupthemoment
shesawEiXan.Holdinganumbrellain
onehandtowardoffthesweltering
noonheat,sheranfromherstallat
HlaingTharyarTownship’s20thWard
Marketandgreetedhervisitorwithabig
hug.“Mysister,”shecalledEiXan.The
twowomenthenlaunchedintochats
andgiggleslikeanypairofsisterswould.
Butthetruthis,farfrombeingborninto
thesamefamily,EiXanisanewfigure
inThandar’slife.AsEnterpriseSupport
SpecialistatYangon-basedsustainable
enterpriseincubatorOpportunities
NOW,lastyearEiXanhelpedThandar
getaccesstofinancialeducation,loans
andmentoring.Today,thebondbe-
tweenthemremainsstrong.
At31yearsofage,Thandarisadivorced
motheroftwoboys,aged14andnine.
Shehadonlyfinishedeighthgradeand
herworkexperienceconsistedofyears
sewingandmakingsequinsatalocal
tailor.
Lifehasbeentoughforthefamily,but
Thandarisdeterminedtolookforward
anddreambigforhertwosons.Aswe
tookshelterundertheplastictarpaulin
coveringherstall,Thandar’syoungest
sonZayYaAungarrivedfromschool.
“Iwanttobeabletotellmysonsthat
theycandowhatevertheywant.Myson
ZayYawantstobeadoctor.Iwillwork
hardforhim,butIdowonderifIwillever
beabletoaffordhiseducation.Medical
schoolisnotcheap,”saidThandar,when
askedaboutherlifegoals.
Atthatmoment,MayMonPhyo,Lead
ResearcheratOpportunitiesNOW,
jumpedin.“Don’tbeafraid.Aslongas
yoursondoeswellinschool,thereare
plentyofopportunitiesforscholarships
outthere,”shesaidwarmly.
Justlikethat,thedarkcloudthathung
overThandar’smindwaslifted.She
smiledandwentontotellhervisitorsof
herplantoapplyforasecondloan,this
timetobuyanelectricsewingmachine.
Lastyear,shehadstartedasmallloan
fromOpportunitiesNOWtostartabusi-
nessatthemarket,locatednearthein-
dustrialzoneontheoutskirtsofYangon.
There,shesellswomen’sunderwear,
brasandbasichouseholditems.Within
thatperiodoftime,shewasabletorepay
theloanandmademoremoneythanshe
everdidinherpreviousjob.
Acoupleofhundredmetersaway,
45-year-oldKhinKhinOoisbusymanag-
ingtwostallsthatsellkitchenware.She
tooisaclientatOpportuniesNOWand
hasdiligentlyrepaidloansoverthepast
fivemonthsandevenvastlyexpanded
herinventory.
LikeThandar,KhinKhinisasinglemoth-
erwithlittleeducation—shestopped
attendingschoolatfourthgrade.With
herex-husbandoutofthepicture,it’s
uptoKhinKhintoprovideforherself
indepthSustainable Enterprise

3. 30
indepth
31
Sustainable Enterprise
Opportunities
NOW:ABetter
TomorrowNow
Sondang Grace Siraitmeetstheindividuals
workingalongsideOpportunitiesNOW,asocial
enterpriseincubatorbasedinYangon.
ThandarWin’seyeslitupthemoment
shesawEiXan.Holdinganumbrellain
onehandtowardoffthesweltering
noonheat,sheranfromherstallat
HlaingTharyarTownship’s20thWard
Marketandgreetedhervisitorwithabig
hug.“Mysister,”shecalledEiXan.The
twowomenthenlaunchedintochats
andgiggleslikeanypairofsisterswould.
Butthetruthis,farfrombeingborninto
thesamefamily,EiXanisanewfigure
inThandar’slife.AsEnterpriseSupport
SpecialistatYangon-basedsustainable
enterpriseincubatorOpportunities
NOW,lastyearEiXanhelpedThandar
getaccesstofinancialeducation,loans
andmentoring.Today,thebondbe-
tweenthemremainsstrong.
At31yearsofage,Thandarisadivorced
motheroftwoboys,aged14andnine.
Shehadonlyfinishedeighthgradeand
herworkexperienceconsistedofyears
sewingandmakingsequinsatalocal
tailor.
Lifehasbeentoughforthefamily,but
Thandarisdeterminedtolookforward
anddreambigforhertwosons.Aswe
tookshelterundertheplastictarpaulin
coveringherstall,Thandar’syoungest
sonZayYaAungarrivedfromschool.
“Iwanttobeabletotellmysonsthat
theycandowhatevertheywant.Myson
ZayYawantstobeadoctor.Iwillwork
hardforhim,butIdowonderifIwillever
beabletoaffordhiseducation.Medical
schoolisnotcheap,”saidThandar,when
askedaboutherlifegoals.
Atthatmoment,MayMonPhyo,Lead
ResearcheratOpportunitiesNOW,
jumpedin.“Don’tbeafraid.Aslongas
yoursondoeswellinschool,thereare
plentyofopportunitiesforscholarships
outthere,”shesaidwarmly.
Justlikethat,thedarkcloudthathung
overThandar’smindwaslifted.She
smiledandwentontotellhervisitorsof
herplantoapplyforasecondloan,this
timetobuyanelectricsewingmachine.
Lastyear,shehadstartedasmallloan
fromOpportunitiesNOWtostartabusi-
nessatthemarket,locatednearthein-
dustrialzoneontheoutskirtsofYangon.
There,shesellswomen’sunderwear,
brasandbasichouseholditems.Within
thatperiodoftime,shewasabletorepay
theloanandmademoremoneythanshe
everdidinherpreviousjob.
Acoupleofhundredmetersaway,
45-year-oldKhinKhinOoisbusymanag-
ingtwostallsthatsellkitchenware.She
tooisaclientatOpportuniesNOWand
hasdiligentlyrepaidloansoverthepast
fivemonthsandevenvastlyexpanded
herinventory.
LikeThandar,KhinKhinisasinglemoth-
erwithlittleeducation—shestopped
attendingschoolatfourthgrade.With
herex-husbandoutofthepicture,it’s
uptoKhinKhintoprovideforherself
indepthSustainable Enterprise

4. 32
indepth
“Once I get that
machine, I’m going
to make dresses for
sale, perhaps even
dresses with se-
quins.”
—ThandarWin
andhertwokids.Herdaughterisnow
attendingalocaluniversitymajoringin
Historyandhersonisinhighschool.
ButKhinKhinalreadyhasanotherplan
—theloanhadenabledhertoopena
smallstallforherdaughter.“Itoldmy
daughter,it’sokaytogotoschool,but
it’sbettertoownabusinessratherthan
workforthegovernmentoranyone
else,”shesaid.
Inthiscountryofsomethreemillion
microenterprises,theplightofThandar
andKhinKhinbringhopeamidsuch
grimpicturesofpoverty.Whatmakes
themdifferentishowtheseladieshave
benefitednotonlyfromloans,butalso
consistentfinancialliteracyandmento-
ringprograms.Priortolaunchingtheir
businesses,bothhadtoattendaneight-
weektrainingprogramand,astheir
businesseslaunched,maintainedactive
consultationwiththeirmentors.
“Wewantedittobeawholepackage:the
training,thecapitalandthementoring
afterthefact.Ithinkprobablythemost
importantpieceisthattherearealot
ofstudiesnowthatshowbusinesses
thathaveamentor,especiallystartups,
arealotmorelikelytosucceedandso
wewantedtomakesurethattheyhave
someonewalkingalongsidethemasthey
launchthisnewstartup,”saidOppor-
tunitiesNOWExecutiveDirectorand
CofounderMattWallace.
FormallylaunchedinMay2012,Oppor-
tunitiesNOWisanentrepreneurship
developmentsystemthatprovidesbusi-
nesstrainingandmentoringinvarious
stagesofbusinessstartup.Theconcept
wastoprovidetrainingthatwould
eventuallyleadtorealexperienceof
launchingabusiness,allthewhilehelp-
ingclientstorealizehowagoodbusiness
mustunderstandconsumerproblems
andproviderealsolutions.
Withinfouryears,operationshave
expandedtoBagoandThandweasthe
organizationstandswitnesstosome
simplebutexcitingbusinessideas
amongMyanmar’sunderprivileged
youth.
InBago,ayoungwomanappliedfor
aloantobuytwowashingmachines
andsuccessfullylaunchedalaundry
serviceforbusyuniversitystudentsand
schoolteachers.JustoutsideofYangon,
ayoungmanrealizedmanypeopleinhis
ruralarealackaccesstomedicalcare,
andsoheofferedtotraveltotheirloca-
tionstoprovidephysicalson-siteandsell
pharmaceuticalsupplies.Anotherclient
effectivelydevelopedanideatohelp
youngpeoplelearnEnglishbyfollowing
alongwithlyricbookshecreatedfor
popularsongs.
“Wedon’tgivethemanyidea.It’snotour
businessthatwe’regettingthemtorun.
Wewanttohelpthemseetheoppor-
tunity,yes,butwewanttoleveragethe
skillstheyhave,theinteresttheyhave
tomeetaneedinthecommunity,”said
Wallace.
Lookingahead,Wallaceandhisteamare
nowintentonimprovingtheindustry’s
abilitytosupportbusinessowners.Rela-
tionships,theybelieve,shouldn’tstopat
loandisbursementandrepayment.
“Rightnow,youtypicallygetmoneyfrom
anMFI(microfinanceinstitution).They’ll
doabigtrainingwith30-40peoplein
aroom,lotsoflecture,andthenthey’ll
tellthemaboutthetermsofloans,that’s
prettywellit,norealadviceonfinancial
management,norealtrainingonmaking
goodbusinessdecisions,”saidWallace.
“Ithinkif[theMFISs]lookalittlebit
morelikeus,alongsidethataccessto
finance,theywouldbeincrediblyim-
pactfulinthiscountry.Iftheyknewhow
tosupportbusinessowners,andeven
inalittleway,iftheyunderstoodwhat
questionstoaskthem,orwhat’sagood
timetogivesomeadvice,orprovide
afewtoolstothem,Ithinktheycould
dosomeincrediblethingssupporting
microenterprisesinthiscountry.”
WiththebackingoftheUSAID,Oppor-
tunitiesNOWisdevelopingfinancial
literacytools,whichincludeaconversa-
tionguideandamobileappthatteaches
financialeducationthroughstories.The
goalistohelpbusinessownersrealize
theconsequencesofthedecisionsthey
make.
AtHlaingTharyar’s20thWardMarket,
Thandaralreadyknowswhatshe’sgoing
todoonceshegetsherelectricsewing
machine.Agiftedseamstress,she’s
alwaysmadeherowndresses,afactthat
oftenwonherpraisefromothers.
“OnceIgetthatmachine,I’mgoingto
makedressesforsale,perhapseven
dresseswithsequins,”shesays,hereyes
sparklingwithhope.
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