Women's forum discusses financial inclusion

“Not everybody can start a business. We need to work with the government and other sectors to make sure that we can actually give people the financial footing they need,” said Kim Chawsu Gyi, a managing director at KBZ Bank, at the recent Women’s Forum in Yangon.

She added that she wanted to see SME banking take off so that lenders could support micro-, small- and medium enterprises.

“When we provide loans, we usually look at collateral. There are lots of people who are in desperate need of money to start their businesses. Without collateral, it is very difficult for us to provide them with the amount of money they want to borrow,” she said.

Kim Chawsu Gyi explained that the reason why lenders could not provide loans without collateral is because of legal regulations.

“That regulation needs to be changed. We need to keep engaging with different players to make that happen,” she said.

“In order for that to take off, we have to work together with the government and the regulator, the Central Bank of Myanmar, as well as local banks and foreign players coming into the market. Only then can we serve the needs of our customers.”

She underscored the importance of public-private cooperation in ensuring that lenders can accommodate the high demand for loans and assistance. 

Lack of planning, insufficient knowledge of cash flows and lack of access to financing has led to the failure of the financial inclusion. 

“We actually need to upgrade our education standards. Consumer education is also vital. For example, we need to tell our customers how to use ATM cards and explain the benefits of using them,” she said.

Lynn Lynn Tin Htut, vice president of Myanmar Business Executive (MBE) and co-founder and managing director of Mango Marketing Services Co Ltd, echoed Kim’s view.

“It is very important to provide services that meet the needs of the grass roots. We should try to think on their behalf and for their benefit. In line with our belief that capacity development is crucial, we want to share knowledge with other people,” she said.

Lynn said that MBE has been providing capacity-building programmes mostly in rural areas, which mainly involve lectures on how to run a business and how to manage one’s own business. 

“So far, MBE has trained about 6,000 people under the programme. I think about 63 per cent are women. Small businesses usually borrow about US$20-30 for their businesses. We share with them our knowledge about how to run a business and how to manage cash,” she said.

Lynn said stakeholders in every sector must work together to address these challenges.

“Nowadays, with the widespread use of internet and social media, everything is so active. I think we need to communicate with each other. Particularly for this kind of transitional period, everybody needs to express what they think and make sure we do not go in different directions. Every player in the process of financial inclusion has to speak out participate in this integrated approach,” she said.

Maria Concepcion G. Hina, chief technical director of ACCESS Advisory, agreed with Lynn. She highlighted the need to create a cooperative environment between the public sector and the private. 

“All players in the financial inclusion process must go hand in hand and cooperate with each other. In the Philippines's experience, the government, civil society, and private sector did not see eye to eye because of the failure of the banking sector. When we started to work hand in hand, the central became our main supporter, providing policies for the microfinance and financial inclusion to continue,” said Hina.

“For an infant industrial economy like Myanmar, the policies of the government can reflect [growth momentum]. We need to understand all the players’ expectations regarding financial inclusion, especially from the commercial sector and from the banks because they always try to balance between financial goals and development goals,” she added. 

According to Hina, policy, programmes, implementation, training, and financing each play a crucial role in the sustainability of any business. She also pushed for gender mainstreaming in financial inclusion. 

During the panel discussion, Hina also an ongoing three-year project in Kayen State in which she participated. She also shared her experiences in the Philippines and Cambodia. With technical assistance from the European Union, these projects will benefit people from more than 50 villages by providing them access to financing and strengthening their capacity, she said. 

Suryani SF Motik, WEConnect International’s executive director for Indonesia, said rural people could start with small businesses and then expand gradually. 

“You can go to the big companies and ask if they have Corporate Social Responsibility funds. If they do, you can ask them to channel CSR funds into your activities. You can also work with financial institutions, such as banks,” she said.

Motik said bankers usually save accurate data and credit profiles of borrowers in Indonesia. If someone borrows money from a bank, he needs three years of experience, she said.

Motik also shared one of her experiences during the Asian economic crisis in Indonesia. 

“During the crisis, women were the backbone of the economy. They set up SMEs. We invited the Central Bank and all the bankers in Indonesia [to discuss how to solve our problems]. All the bankers said that women are the best borrowers. When women borrow money from the banks, they cannot sleep if they cannot pay. So I believe in the women,” said Motik.

“If you want to do the financial inclusion at the micro level, you should give it to the women. The ones who signed the contract should not be men. They should be the women, as they are responsible,” she added.