Established in 2010 as an initiative of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, an international group, “CEO Champions” is a global organization that “aims to drive progress and responsibility for the advancement of women in the private sector.” In December 2014, the group was formed to take on the following commitments: 1) programs that develop better education for mothers; 2) to engage the government on issues of shared interest; 3) to engage the media, reaching out in particular to young people; 4) to promote dialogue between women’s organizations in Myanmar and ASEAN; 5) to develop and publicly recognize role models in order to recognize women as well as men who make their community or company a better place for women; 6) to host inter-company sessions; 7) to bring in male CEOs to future meetings to raise awareness among men and to launch “a sustained conversation with men in their companies on why it is the right thing to do to have more women at the top of the organization”; 8) to send one or two representatives to the CEO Champions meeting at the Women’s Forum Global Meeting in October 2015; and 9) to host a second session six months following its initial meeting in June 2015.

SEDA is a local non-profit NGO established to provide social and economic opportunities for the poor. The group serves remote and rural areas in the areas of education, HIV/AIDS prevention, medical training, and agribusiness. It is also in the process of developing a microfinance project specifically to assist low-income, single women to create financial opportunity and independence, helping these women to develop small sustainable businesses and services and manage their finances.