Telecom International Myanmar Co (Mytel) signed an agreement with locally owned Blue Ocean Business Services Co.,, to establish digital ecosystem for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Myanmar

IN A BID to boost the optimisation of micro-, small- and medium-enterprises in Myanmar through digital products and solutions, Telecom International Myanmar Co (Mytel) recently signed an agreement with locally-owned Blue Ocean Business Services Co.

 Khin Maung Soe, chairman of MyTel, said the telco would expand digital services for both corporates and SMEs, and the agreement would play a crucial role in improving efficiency of small businesses by helping them achieve digitisation for their sustainable growth.

“As more businesses in Myanmar usher in an era of digital economy, we will work together with Blue Ocean to create a digital ecosystem for SMEs,” he said.

 “The majority of our businesses are SMEs, and they have limited access to high-quality technical services because they cannot heavily invest in technology due to budget constraints. So, we have decided to fill the gap by providing our technology products at a reasonable price.”

According to the top executive, Mytel has invested US$1.5 billion (Bt47.66 billion). As a joint venture with Vietnam’s Viettel, 51 per cent of the shares are owned by the Myanmar side, while the remainder is held by the Vietnamese company. Within eight months from the first day of its commercial operations last year, Mytel has received more than 5.5 million active subscribers on its network.

“Our business performance is really impressive. It will take at least two or three years for other telcos to result in such a positive performance,” he said.

“We are fully aware that customers want to get quality services at the cheapest price, and this is what we are trying for. We stand ready to provide the most competitive solutions for SMEs in Myanmar.”

Htun Htun Naing, chairman and CEO of Blue Ocean Co, said a total of 15 digital products would be available in the digital ecosystem, focusing on three main services – mobile, connectivity, and Cloud & ICT.

“Here in Myanmar, SMEs cannot afford to buy expensive software such as SAP and ERP. We do not want them to lag behind. We believe our offerings will help them grow further in this age of digital economy,” he said, adding that small businesses would witness cost effectiveness and increased productivity in a short time.

Htun Htun Naing expects more than 30,000 SMEs to use the products by the end of this year, and foresees the number of SME customers to grow to 75,000 by the end of 2020.

Zaw Min Oo, chief external relations officer at Mytel, said the telco would continue offering innovative products at an affordable price for everyone in Myanmar.

“Provided that we have covered more than 90 per cent of the population in Myanmar, we are targeting 7 million active subscribers by the end of this year. Our 4G network rollout is also on the rise – we now have more than 7,000 sites, operating an extensive fibre network of 30,000 kilometres,” he said.

He said the telco’s 5G trial would be conducted over the next six months, while the commercial launch is expected within a year.

(Eleven Media Group: https://elevenmyanmar.com/news/mytel-blue-ocean-ink-pact-to-establish-digital-ecosystem-for-smes )

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