Ideas for a brand new target market (Myanmar/Burma) - The last frontier
The country of Myanmar (previously called Burma) is often described as the last frontier country in the world (well maybe North Korea might be in the running!).
Until last year, the country was heavily sanctioned by many western countries, the USA, EU countries etc, because of the oppressive military government. So it was very difficult for the local population (and foreigners who live in the country), to source even the most basic of products.
I know this for a fact, because as an international school teacher, I've been living and working in Myanmar since 2012. In those early days, if I spotted a pack of British cheese for sale in the local minimart, I'd buy up the whole supply, because I knew that it would be a long time before I found the next pack.
Access to many western websites was blocked, not by the Myanmar government, but by the websites themselves, wary of allowing access to their websites by users within Myanmar. So Paypal and Ebay blocked access, even suspending user accounts if you so much as tried to log in from Myanmar.
Yes, you could use a VPN, but unless you had a delivery address outside of Myanmar, you could never buy anything.
However, everything has now changed! Since last Autumn/Fall (2016), all sanctions have been removed and the country is wide open for import and export of goods and services. (Although many websites still block access and I regularly have to send them emails to request that they keep up with the news and remove the block).
So now you have a country of 54 million people, eager for education, and with a raidly increasing demand for products and services, thanks to the new 4G mobile networks and internet access.
But while the population can see all these new products and services on their smartphones, actually delivering the product or service to them is way behind.
So.... as a British guy who lives and works in Myanmar, what advice or suggestions do you have for harnessing this untapped market of 50+ million people? Services are probably the easiest to deliver (online/download etc).
What product or service should I market to the people of Myanmar?
Let's discuss !
Until last year, the country was heavily sanctioned by many western countries, the USA, EU countries etc, because of the oppressive military government. So it was very difficult for the local population (and foreigners who live in the country), to source even the most basic of products.
I know this for a fact, because as an international school teacher, I've been living and working in Myanmar since 2012. In those early days, if I spotted a pack of British cheese for sale in the local minimart, I'd buy up the whole supply, because I knew that it would be a long time before I found the next pack.
Access to many western websites was blocked, not by the Myanmar government, but by the websites themselves, wary of allowing access to their websites by users within Myanmar. So Paypal and Ebay blocked access, even suspending user accounts if you so much as tried to log in from Myanmar.
Yes, you could use a VPN, but unless you had a delivery address outside of Myanmar, you could never buy anything.
However, everything has now changed! Since last Autumn/Fall (2016), all sanctions have been removed and the country is wide open for import and export of goods and services. (Although many websites still block access and I regularly have to send them emails to request that they keep up with the news and remove the block).
So now you have a country of 54 million people, eager for education, and with a raidly increasing demand for products and services, thanks to the new 4G mobile networks and internet access.
But while the population can see all these new products and services on their smartphones, actually delivering the product or service to them is way behind.
So.... as a British guy who lives and works in Myanmar, what advice or suggestions do you have for harnessing this untapped market of 50+ million people? Services are probably the easiest to deliver (online/download etc).
What product or service should I market to the people of Myanmar?
Let's discuss !
― George Carlin
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