Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is the use of less energy to perform the same task or produce the same results. In Myanmar, there is a large untapped potential for energy saving by enterprises. Majority of enterprises in Myanmar are still relying on expensive fossil fuels (diesel, coal, and natural gas) for their business operations.
RBF has assisted MSMEs to demonstrate the ‘business case’ for investing in energy efficiency technologies and sustainable renewable sources of energy such as solar and biomass. MSMEs with projects that achieve a minimum of 30% of reduction in their energy usage, have been supported by RBF Myanmar with grants in various sectors - manufacturing, agriculture, food processing, hotels and hospitality.

6,904

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

213

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

15

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located

Water Efficiency

Water is a crucial resource for agriculture, paper processing, and several other industries. However, MSMEs in Myanmar use water inefficiently and incur high costs due to lack of awareness about Water Efficiency technologies. Further, high upfront investment costs and limited technical know-how have acted as barriers in MSMEs’ adoption of water saving technologies in Myanmar.
Under this area, RBF has supported MSMEs to demonstrate the ‘business case’ for investments in Water Efficiency technologies in agriculture and industrial sectors with grants.

799

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

21

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

7

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located

Waste Treatment & Recycling

Responsible handling of wastewater and solid waste is widely ignored by MSMES in Myanmar. RBF has created awareness about the long-term benefits of environmentally responsible waste management and investment in waste-water treatment facilities.
In the waste recycling area, RBF has provided grants to businesses for establishing projects that convert waste into value-added products. Examples of support include the production of organic fertilizers and animal feed from agricultural waste; and biomass boiler, burners, dryers from waste rice husks.
Under this area, RBF Myanmar also supported the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) to individual businesses and helped establish Myanmar’s first cooperative central WWTPs by a group of leather tanneries in Mandalay and a cluster of vermicelli and leather businesses in Monywa.

6,528

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

184

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

14

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located

Occupational Safety & Health

For MSMEs in Myanmar, improvement in Occupational Safety & Health (OSH) standards is an important step in attracting the attention of international buyers and customers.
RBF has supported MSMEs with grants to demonstrate the ‘business case’ for OSH improvements such as working conditions, reduction of risks of accidents and injuries in the workplace. Several of these initiatives have vastly improved the relationship MSME management and employees, apart from gaining access to profitable export markets.
Examples of RBF support include, garment factories installing evaporative cooling systems, ventilation systems, and fire safety systems to reduce the number of heat strokes and fatigue incidents and prevent from fire accidents at the workplace.
MSMEs in Agriculture sector have switched from backbreaking manual cultivation and harvesting techniques to mechanized equipment, which not only reduces the risks of injury and snakebite, but also improves productivity. Further the farm mechanization initiative can attract farm workers back to rural areas due to improved OSH conditions.
MSMEs in the rice milling sector have been motivated to replace their high dust producing traditional mills with more modern rice mills.
All MSMEs supported in this area have provided OSH Training to their employees.

3,520

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

139

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

12

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located

Food Safety

For MSMEs in the food processing sector of Myanmar, improvement in Food Safety standards is a critical step for succeeding in both domestic and export markets.
RBF has supported MSMEs with grants to demonstrate the ‘business case’ for investing food safety within the food processing, catering, and fisheries industries to improve their food safety infrastructure and processes.
MSMEs supported by RBF have invested in food processing equipment and facilities that have vastly reduced the costs of spoilage and food contamination, apart from increasing the quality and price realization of their food products.
Further MSMEs have been supported to enhance the export possibilities for their products by qualifying for essential certification standards such as FDA, ISO, HACCP and GMP.

2,839

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

104

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

14

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located

Managerial & Supervisory Skills

MSMEs have been supported by RBF to improve their human resource capacity through co-financing of short-term skills upgrading initiatives for management. RBF support has targeted the skill development of middle-management and supervisory staff of MSMEs.
RBF has supported MSMEs that have a minimum of 20 staff and an established management structure with training courses (about 4 weeks) over a period of 6 months, that included Management training (and coaching), practice of human resource development (HRD) and production efficiency improvements.

150

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

9

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

3

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located

Practical & Technical Skills

The shortage of skilled labor is one of the major barriers for the economic progress of Myanmar in general and MSMEs in particular.
Majority of MSMEs are yet to invest in skills development of their employees and consider them as significant assets that drive enterprise growth and profitability.
MSME employees are often not formally trained to acquire skills that help them cope with newer responsibilities.
Under this area, RBF has supported MSMEs in upgrading the practical and technical skills of their employees. The support was based on the specific needs of each MSME, eg: Human-elephant interaction training and hospitality training at a small ecolodge and Environmental Management System (EMS) Training for businesses.

126

MILLION MMK

Grant disbursed for SMEs till date

22

PROJECTS

Has been disbursed grant by RBF Board

3

STATES & REGIONS

Of Myanmar in which the RBF supported SMEs/Projects are located