For Southeast Asian women and their families, entrepreneurship is an effective means of earning a living and an opportunity to balance family and work and achieve decent work. By starting their own businesses, women gain the ability to take a new perspective at social issues and actively contribute to society as innovative participants. Women's economic and social empowerment is known to have a ripple effect not only on women, but also on their families, children, and the communities in which they live. Therefore, we encourage women to take the initiative to start their own businesses and increase their economic power.
However, in regions and countries that traditionally require gender-normative roles and behaviors, women are not always tolerated for being entrepreneurs, and “unconscious bias” prevents them from fulfilling their potential. As a result, women entrepreneurs lack necessary support and access to appropriate resources, including funding and mentorship.
In order to overcome such a situation, we are conducting research in Myanmar on how women can close the existing gender gap through entrepreneurship and supporting the business growth of women entrepreneurs who are closing that emerging gender gap through their entrepreneurial activities. We also run entrepreneurship support programs for small but promising businesses that include a gender perspective, particularly for women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who can help improve women's lives and address gender issues. As a result, we provide men and women with equal opportunities to grow and support their readiness to embrace investment. Together with the local partners who are familiar with the ecosystems in the target countries, we aim to support other initiatives in the region by providing human and financial support and forming human networks to build a sustainable, gender-oriented entrepreneurship support ecosystem.
