Please join us for the Change Seminar this week on *Tuesday 11/28/2017* in the large conference room of *Harris Hydraulics* from *12-1 pm*. *Note the room **change for this week!!*
*Who:* Pwint Htun *What:* Myanmar's Digital Financial Services industry: Vision for 2020 *When:* Tuesday Nov 28 *Where:* 12pm in Harris Hydraulics *Abstract: * A University of Washington alumnus, Pwint Htun, has been the hidden figure behind the Digital Financial Services industry for her homeland of Myanmar since mid-2012. As ICTD and DFS industry advisor to the Government of Myanmar, Pwint continues to play a crucial role in building up digital financial services industry as Myanmar has transformed from the third least connected in the world. Today, 90% of the population of Myanmar has affordable 3G coverage with the majority of Myanmar citizens on smartphones. In 2017, Pwint Htun co-authored "Mobilizing Myanmar" for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Report is downloadable at goo.gl/xEDYF8 Myanmar has one of the poorest banking infrastructures in Southeast Asia. The banking sector and ATM network cannot reach rural areas. Today, there are more active SIMs than the number of people in Myanmar. People in rural areas have smartphones charged with solar panels. With backing from the State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, the digital financial services industry is poised to be transformative for the people of Burma by end of 2020. The people of Burma have leapfrogged from $1500 SIM cards for the elite few to pervasive smartphones and mobile financial services intended for rural and urban poor and women. *Related articles: * Economist magazine from October 12 https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21730199-rudimentary- financial-services-are-offer-places-roads-do-not-reach Frontier Magazine: https://www.frontiermyanmar.net/en/funny-money-in-myanmars-fintech-sector Irrawaddy News: https://www.irrawaddy.com/in-person/ma-pwint-htun-everyone- will-using-mobile-financial-services-next-three-years.html
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