For many generations, women in Myanmar have been conditioned to take responsibility for keeping families and communities afloat. Many manage household finances under constant stress, often taking on informal work to supplement income.
Access to training is uneven, market information is hard to obtain, and financing remains out of reach for most. The result is a cycle of effort without security, where survival often comes before sustainability.
Against this backdrop, Thiri Aung has focused her work on helping women gain the confidence and support they deserve. As the founder and CEO of Women Transforming Myanmar (WTM), Aung created a platform where women can learn and support one another in practical ways. WTM is now an active network of over 5,000 women entrepreneurs who share opportunities and business knowledge across the country.
Image courtesy of Ms.Thiri Aung
We spoke with Thiri Aung about the everyday realities facing women in Myanmar, why voice and confidence matter, and how collective support can change economic outcomes.
Throughout the conversation, she she was clear on what women needed to take part meaningfully in Myanmar’s economy. “Women do not need sympathy,” Ms. Aung told us. “We need fair market access, skills, confidence, and dignity.”
I want to start with your experience in Pindaya – it seems your time there served as a laboratory you learned to actively co-create economic solutions for women. What did it teach you about Myanmar women’s most common challenges, and the solutions they need?
Living in a remote village in Pindaya alongside farming families allowed me to understand women’s realities deeply. I learned that women work relentlessly under all circumstances, whether under economic crisis, political uncertainty, or even a pandemic.
Women carry multiple roles in our communities, as income earners, caregivers, farmers, traders, and household managers, often without fair pay, decision-making power or even rest.
Pindaya taught me that women do not need sympathy – we need fair market access, skills, confidence, and dignity. When women are connected to value chains, supported to improve production, and trusted as economic actors, they perform exceptionally well.
Most importantly, the experience reinforced that meaningful change requires action. That is why I dedicated Women Transforming Myanmar (WTM) to empowering women not only to survive, but to thrive – and to become leaders within their communities.
Signing ceremony between WTM leadership and Myanmar Oriental Bank (MOB)
Image courtesy of Women Transforming Myanmar
Women Transforming Myanmar now serves as a vibrant network for over 5,000 women entrepreneurs across diverse sectors, including agriculture, textiles, and technology. Can you tell us about its vision today, and its ongoing projects you’re most proud of?
Women Transforming Myanmar (WTM) was founded in 2020 to support women entrepreneurs in building sustainable businesses amid multiple crises. Today, WTM serves a network of 5,000+ women across Myanmar working in agriculture, handicrafts, services, tourism-related livelihoods, and digital sectors.
Our vision focuses on long-term resilience and leadership. We prioritize access to finance, confidence-building, ethical entrepreneurship, and strengthening women’s roles in local economies and communities. What matters most to us is seeing women move from survival to agency, from isolation to networks, and from informal effort to sustainable livelihoods.
I am particularly proud of our women-led MSME resilience programs with UN Women, UNDP, ActionAid, UNOPS and FNF; our networking initiatives; and youth employment pathways with RCCY that connect training with real job and internship opportunities. In recognition of this work, WTM received the UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Award (2024) and the Women Empowerment Award by the UNAID Program (2023) and MYEA Award (2025).
Image courtesy of Ms.Thiri Aung
You mentioned that your approach to supporting women entrepreneurs “typically begins with mindset and confidence-building.” Why do you see confidence as a barrier for women entrepreneurs in Myanmar?
In Myanmar, many women are shaped by cultural and religious norms. Their position primarily as supporters of husbands and families, rather than as decision-makers or leaders. Combined with prolonged crises and limited exposure to leadership roles, this creates a structural challenge.
Women in Myanmar hesitate to price fairly, negotiate, seek partnerships, or plan long-term growth. That is why WTM begins with mindset and confidence-building. Together with UN Women, WTM initiated Transformative Leadership Programs focused on gender equality, leadership integrated with responsible business.
Once women believe their ideas matter, training, finance, and market access begin to work effectively. Confidence becomes the foundation of sustainable entrepreneurship.
Image courtesy of Ms.Thiri Aung
You also mentioned that “profit and purpose” are supposed to be partners; you actually advocate for social mission, ethical sourcing, and inclusive workplaces as competitive advantages for entrepreneurs. Can you explain this a little bit, and tell us what led you to this thinking?
In fragile contexts like Myanmar, the peer-to-peer support only works and sustains businesses – profit without purpose is not sustainable. Women entrepreneurs are deeply connected to their communities; workers, suppliers, and customers often share the same vulnerabilities. Social expectations and reputational pressures is very strong in Myanmar.
We have seen women-led MSMEs survive crises precisely because they invested in relationships. This approach aligns strongly with responsible tourism and sustainable regional development.
In September this year, I participated in the ASEAN–Korea Innovative Sustainable Talks, engaging with global leaders on AI and ESG. As AI advances rapidly, anchoring business growth in ESG principles is essential. This integration is a core part of WTM’s 2026 strategy.
You’ve mentioned that women’s voices are “unheard” in their communities simply because of their gender. How do your programs address this need to be heard – or perhaps the need to feel safe enough to express their needs?
Networking is one of WTM’s core pillars. Many women are unheard not because they lack ideas, but because they lack safe spaces to express them. WTM creates peer groups, mentoring circles, and facilitated discussions where women can speak without fear.
Since 2022, WTM has co-hosted International Women’s Day events annually with UN Women and partner organizations, each year focusing on a different theme. Last year’s theme – Women Returning to Work – supported women with career gaps caused by the pandemic, political crisis, or personal circumstances. More than 300 women participated, many reconnecting with the workforce. By gaining the space to be heard, women earn agency and influence in decisions that affect women’s lives and livelihoods.
Thiri Aung (third from left) at a panel discussion on digital violence, hosted by the Netherlands and Australia Embassies.
Image courtesy of Women Transforming Myanmar
According to the UNDP page, you facilitate Transformative Feminist Leadership training on their E-learning Portal for MSMEs. In practical terms, what does feminist leadership mean in the Myanmar context, and how does it help women MSME leaders strengthen their businesses and incomes?
Through collaboration with UN Women and UNDP, WTM facilitates Transformative Feminist Leadership and Women Entrepreneurship Training for MSMEs.
In the Myanmar context, feminist leadership is about fairness, inclusion, accountability, and shared responsibility. These principles help women lead ethically, strengthen teams, and build resilient businesses.
The program has been implemented in Yangon, Mandalay, and Shan State, reaching over 800 women. Through this work, WTM was recognized with the 2024 UN Women Asia-Pacific WEPs Award (SME Champion).
Are there any success stories from WTM that you’d like to share?
In the past year alone, WTM supported 21 women-led businesses to access bank loans – an exceptional achievement in Myanmar, where access to finance is extremely limited.
Together with ActionAid Myanmar, UNOPS, and the Mandalay Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, WTM supported 18 women-led businesses to secure grants, including five businesses in Mandalay affected by the March 7.8-magnitude earthquake.
WTM also supported formal business registration for many women, enabling them to join national networks such as MyanWen, MWEA, and MYEA – access that was previously unavailable to informal businesses.
Personally, I was honored to be selected by the American Embassy for the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), and to serve as a panelist at the ASEAN–Korea Innovative Sustainable Talks. I also currently serve as Vocational Service Chair at the Rotary Club of Central Yangon.
Image courtesy of Ms.Thiri Aung
When you think about Myanmar’s future, what role do you believe women entrepreneurs will play in rebuilding the economy and society?
Despite political and environmental challenges, women entrepreneurs will be central to rebuilding Myanmar’s economy and society. They sustain households, preserve local skills, create jobs, and invest directly in community well-being.
Beyond economics, women entrepreneurs rebuild trust and model ethical leadership. With the right support – confidence, skills, and networks – they will help shape a more inclusive, resilient, and hopeful future for Myanmar.
