From Myanmar to Bangalore, on business

Rhik Kundu, TNN | Nov 6, 2012, 06.51AM IST   

BANGALORE: They have come all the way from Myanmar to the IT capital to take back home some new ideas on doing business. The visit has been worth it, said the 21 MBA students from Mandalay University.
"I want to introduce information and communication technology in the retail sector of my company," said Phyo Myintzu, an MBA student who also helps run a family business in dairy products.

Myintzu, along with her batch mates, is on a 12-day training programme (October 28 to November 7) in India, initiated by the ministry of external affairs, Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore and the Myanmar government. They are a student group on a business study delegation to Bangalore.

The visit, which for many was their first to the country, was packed with lectures on management and various other topics by professors of IIM and field tours to prominent Bangalorebased corporate campuses like Infosys , Biocon, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Himalaya Pharmaceuticals, 3M and Akshaya Patra Foundation.

"I am really inspired by the whole idea of providing free food to 1.3 million poor children. I want to launch a similar initiative back home," said Win Aung, who is a member of the German-Myanmar friendship foundation, an NGO that works on education and community development. A nascent democracy, Myanmar's economy is yet to open up, after years of military rule. But a whole new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders is coming up in the country which shares traditional bilateral business ties with India.

"India could be one of the major trading partners of Myanmar in the coming years," said N Ravi, a former diplomat and one of the brains behind the programme.

However, business and technology were not the only things that inspired the young Myanmarese students.

"I just love Shah Rukh Khan and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham is my alltime favourite film," said Thein Tun Saung. "No other actor can deliver a dialogue such as 'I am Khan and I am not a terrorist' better," he said.

Indian food was another big attraction . "It left many of us teary eyed but it's worth a try," said Zaw Myo Aung, who wants to mirror India's IT development in Myanmar.

The civil engineer who also has a computer engineering degree is inspired by Infosys to set up an IT solutions company back home.

"The best part though was our visit to Bodh Gaya, the birth place of Buddha ," said Min Min O, who's a doctor by education. "We were worried about being in a new country for the first time, but after a visit to the shrines, we felt safe and embraced the country."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/From-Myanmar-to-Bangalore-on-business/articleshow/17109900.cms