It’s an exciting time for Myanmar right now, which is just only coming out from under a 50-year old dictatorship regime. Just last year, only 0.16 percent of Myanmar’s population had access to the internet, and it is estimated that roughly 10 percent of their people own a mobile phone.
The situation in Myanmar now is not too different from post-communist Vietnam, who only managed to pull away from the extreme poverty line in 2008. Since then, a combination of accelerators, events, and startups have sprouted in Vietnam in steadily growing numbers. The question is, can Myanmar pull it off as well?
Such staggeringly low numbers can be rather daunting for prospective startups in Myanmar. On the other hand, it does mean that there is plenty of ‘blue ocean’ for those who dare to wade into it. With its population of 61 million people, Myanmar is by no means a small market, and with the right amount of guidance and grit, startup founders have the opportunity to grab the ‘first movers’ advantage’. But the minimal infrastructure and a nascent tech community means entrepreneurs must hit the ground running.
Vietnam’s mobile content development startup Appota is one of the shining stars in Myanmar’s up-and-coming tech ecosystem. Having recently raised a series B round of an undisclosed amount, their success story makes a perfect blueprint for startups in Myanmar to learn how to fully utilize the resources at hand and make something of themselves.
Come October 16, 6:30 pm, Tech in Asia will be bringing Do Tuan Anh, founder and CEO of Appota, to our Yangon Meetup session. He will tell us more about the challenges he and his team faced when first starting out in Vietnam, and how those same principles can apply to startups in Myanmar as well.
P.S. Heads up to gaming startups and companies! Our chief editor from sister site Games in Asia, Mary-Anne Lee, will be attending this meetup session as well. If you would like to chat with her, or pitch your games, come join us!
Agenda:
6:30pm – 7:00pm: Registration
7:00pm – 8.00pm: [Discussion] Tips on how to build a startup in an emerging market
8.00pm – 8:15pm: Q&A
8:15pm – 9:00pm: Networking and light refreshments
Venue:
Lithan University College, Union Business Centre, #02-07, Nat Mauk Street, Bo Cho Qtr, Bahan Township, Yangon Myanmar
Speaker profile: Do Tuan Anh, Appota
Prior to founding his two most recent ventures, Tuan Anh served as marketing director at Naiscorp and contributed large numbers of growth rate products in terms of users and revenue. He became well-known in the tech world when he became the first person to unlock the iPhone in 2008. In 2011, he built AppstoreVn as a mobile content social network, which reached more than 10 million users and become the most diverse store for smartphones in the Vietnam market.
After the failure of AppstoreVn, he participated in a training course at Founder Insitute. He then went to Singapore to present his ideas in front of many international investors and received his first funding for Appota. In 2012, the startup was crowned the Most Disruptive out of over 500 teams at the Founder Institute, and also won the Best in Asia Award in 2013.
About Venue Sponsor:
Lithan University College aims to be the leading cooperative education provider in Myanmar. Our mission is to deliver Competency-based Experiential Learning Programmes that foster lifelong career growth and development.
Lithan University College delivers an innovative course curriculum together with our international education and industry partners. Our courses are taught by qualified local lecturers, visiting foreign lecturers and successful regional industry practitioners. We provide the best learning experience with fully equipped modern facilities and seasoned professionals for your growth and development.
About Local Supporting Partner:
Myanmar Young Entrepreneurs Association (MYEA) was established in 2012. MYEA’s main mission is to promote entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship development in Myanmar, and be the national focal point for entrepreneur related works and projects. MYEA is officially recognized by the national chambers of commerce and industry (UMFCCI) as the entrepreneurship development organization in Myanmar. It’s also a founding member of ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs Association. MYEA has introduced several initiatives and programs since the founding to benefit entrepreneurship development in Myanmar – which includes most recently an initiative to establish the first incubator and accelerator. MYEA has also organized entrepreneurship talks, member day activities, seminars, caravans around the country, job fairs and international exchanges.
A huge thank you to our awesome sponsors:
Corporate sponsors
VC sponsor
Startup sponsors
Venue sponsor
Local Media Partner
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Editing by Terence Lee and Steven Millward
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