NAY PYI TAW : Business leaders are optimistic that Myanmar's progress in the telecommunications sector will help to create new entrepreneurs.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, the chairman and group chief executive of Bharti Enterprises Ltd, said he believes Myanmar is off to a good start, with the government determined to use the power of information and communications technology for transformation.
"It will ensure people will have mobile bank accounts, mobile education and thousands of entrepreneurs developing around this ecosystem," he said yesterday at the World Economic Forum on East Asia.
Telephone costs in Myanmar are now six US cents a minute, but Mr Mittal said the cost should settle at two or three cents.
Shane Aung Thu, a vice-chairman and co-founder of Redlink Communications Co, said not only is hard infrastructure important but also soft infrastructure, as the use of modern technology is the central pillar of all development.
Dan'l Lewin, Microsoft Corporation's vice-president for strategic and emerging business, said data sovereignty, public policy and privacy issues require settling in order for private investment to occur.
"Enterprises and ecosystems thrive without friction, and governments create friction," he said.
"But without government participation in the US, there would be no Silicon Valley. Then the government kind of got out of the way and we ended up with machines that automated regular tasks. Entrepreneurs need an environment where they can do business."
Thaung Tin, a deputy communications and technology minister, said Myanmar's priority is creating entrepreneurs after being under a centralised system for so many decades.
"Entrepreneurship is important. We [government officials] realise that, and the policy for our ministry is to create an entrepreneurial environment by letting the private sector do the job while we provide the policies," he said.
Thaung Tin admitted the current education system is not enough for the challenges the country faces, with an urgent need to create human capital that is ready for industry.
"Myanmar has tens of thousands of university graduates a year, but they are not ready for the industry, because they are misplaced in other areas," he said.
Thaung Tin said Myanmar intends to have 50% telephone density - the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area - by 2015.
Under a selection process begun six months ago, the two winners of telecom licences will be announced on June 27.
Thaung Tin said one of the criteria is covering 92% of the population in five years, while covering a certain percentage of universities, hospitals and major towns in the first year.