About
Towards inclusive development in Myanmar

The cornerstone of the ‘Towards inclusive development in Myanmar’ project is the establishment of a rigorous Myanmar Enterprise Monitoring System (MEMS) focused on the industrial small and medium enterprise (SME) sector. The MEMS is primarily aimed at improving information and knowledge about economic policy issues in Myanmar and strengthening the government’s capacity to appropriately address key development challenges associated with the country’s reform process, especially regarding SMEs.

The MEMS stands on four pillars: biannual quantitative and qualitative/experimental surveys; in-depth policy relevant research and analysis; dissemination of research findings and policy recommendations; as well as building capacity amongst CSO staff. As an outcome, the MEMS will foster transparency and openness in the public discussion on policy options engaging all relevant stakeholders.

The development potential of the private business sector in contributing to inclusive, sustainable growth and shared prosperity — a declared government priority — goes beyond that of the formal large-scale firm sector located in major cities. The distributional considerations of increasing wealth generation are a central policy issue, which the MEMS will address through a nationally representative effort, based on comprehensive quantitative data collection, to better understand the dynamics and constraints of the private industrial enterprises at large. The aim is to strengthen CSO’s planning and analytical capacity and increase the number of policy studies used in policy formulation.

To find out more about the project download the Description of project approach, methodology, and workplan here.