Rapid changes in the Myanmar garments sector reinforce the need for strong support institutions to assist them in upgrading their production technologies and adopt international standards and market trends. However, a long-term development strategy for the most important business association in the garment sector, the Myanmar Garment Manufacturers Association (MGMA), was so far missing.

To discuss the long-term development strategy for the MGMA, its Board of Directors met on May 25, 2014 and shared ideas on the long-term priorities of the Association. The meeting, which was facilitated by an expert from SEQUA, a German development organization specialized on private sector development and coordinator of the EU SMART Myanmar project , defined the strategic objective of the MGMA as well as its operational priorities and corresponding activities for the next two (2) years.

Marking an important step forward, the Association has now drafted a work plan along three major dimensions: the organizational development of MGMA, the delivery of income-generating services for the members and the delivery of fact-based and systematic policy advocacy. The plan will be further refined by MGMA with the help of EU SMART Myanmar and serve as guidance for further activities. Through the participation of the SMART Team and Pyoe Pin in the planning process, all actions are fully harmonized with the activities of the EU SMART Myanmar project and other donors.