Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and philanthropic investors, Mobilizing Myanmar conducted a large pilot project in Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Delta, suspending operations in February 2021.
In wet markets, bamboo homes and village gatherings, women trained women to safely and effectively use mobile financial services to break the cycle of poverty.
Because Myanmar has extensive network coverage, pervasive smartphone usage (even among the poor), and progressive regulations, it was an ideal lab environment to test innovations and demonstrate how unbanked women can empower themselves using digital tools.
We look forward to sharing best practices widely in order to advance women's financial inclusion in the ASEAN region and beyond.
Why Women?
Copyright © 2019 Paula Bock
On the surface, mobile money is about technology and apps.
But at its core, in a nation where 38 percent of the population lives below the global poverty line, it's about transformation of society as women escape poverty, safely earn and save money, network with each other and gain power.
It's about changing social norms.