Learning and Growing Together

Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Since its independence in 1948, the country has repeatedly been subject to local, civil war-like clashes between the military government and armed ethnic groups, which have hindered the country’s economic and social development. The military coup in February 2021 exacerbated these issues, leading to a severe political, humanitarian, and socio-economic crisis.

ECONOMIC HARDSHIP AND HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

Currently, almost half of Myanmar’s 56 million population lives in poverty. The destabilization of the economic and financial ­sector, resulting from the military coup has led to increased unemployment, significant currency devaluation and a rapid increase in inflation. An estimated 1.6 million jobs were lost in 2021 and wages fell by an average of 15% in real terms between 2017 and 2022. Due to rising food prices and the ongoing weakness of the labour market, food security has also become a growing problem.

INNOVATIVE-SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO PROMOTE CRISIS RESILIENCE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

Since young people are particularly affected by the crisis, SA4D and the partner local organizations Moving Forward Together and Entrepreneurial Development Network have launched the project “Learning and Growing Together”, which aims to support adolescents and young adults’ socio-economic development, equip them with the necessary skills to adapt to the rapidly evolving ­situation and improve their prospects for an economically and ecologically sustainable future.

To reach this goal 1,650 young people aged 16 to 35 in the regions of Yangon, Sagaing, Kayin, Shan, Mon, and Mandalay benefit from quality entrepreneurship and employability training, in which they develop business skills that enable them to find employment or start their own small businesses. The training is based on the validated SA4D approach of interactive, game-based experiential learning and encourages active participation through practical demonstrations, experiments, market visits, and other interactive forms of learning. To put their acquired skills into practice and provide opportunities for income generation, participants are also supported in the production, processing, and marketing of innovative-sustainable products.