NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

1.7 billion people are unbanked, globally. In Asia alone, less than 27% of adults and only 33% of enterprises have an account or a line of credit or loan from a financial institution respectively. 

The World Bank Global Findex reported that emerging Myanmar has only 26% of the population banked. Recently, Myanmar has benefited from leapfrogging technology cycles and widely recognized as one of the last true frontier economies. 8.8 million of the population in Myanmar own a business. Yet 56% of these enterprises do not have a savings/checking account and only 7% of small enterprises have a line of credit. According to a UNCDF study, 52% of businesses identified access to finance as an obstacle. The low trust and penetration of traditional banking methods in Myanmar is particularly chronic in the low income and rural areas where 70% of the population still reside.

Some of the key objectives of  Microfinance Success Asia 2019 is to create a platform and initiative to:   

1. Bring together and coordinate a large number of actors from the microfinance sector in Myanmar and the region including other stakeholders
2.  Build the capacity of the actors, increase confidence and sense of security regarding the use of local financial services
3. promote, spread knowledge and increase the respect for Myanmar innovations in the area of microfinance
4. Create a framework for the development of reflections, proposals, exchanges and actions for the development of best practices in microfinance.