Twenty-eight-year-old Cing Zeel Niang was born in Chin State but left home at an

early age to attend boarding school in Pyin Oo Lwin and later studied medicine
in Mandalay. Her parents felt that it was in their daughter s best interests to be
educated outside her home state, as standards are lower than in other parts of
the country. Chin State lacks a single university - the closest is in neighbouri
ng Sagaing Region
and it is the most underdeveloped nationwide in terms of infra
structure. Cing Zeel Niang - Rosy - graduated in 2012 and began working at a pr
ivate hospital, but had long had plans to start a business in a completely diffe
rent walk of life and one that was closer to her roots selling Chin textiles onl
ine via Facebook.
I hadn t seen anyone try do it,

she told Mizzima Weekly.

Rosy explained that selling via Facebook is more practical than setting up a ded
icated website, as slow internet speeds would make page loading difficult and fr
ustrate potential customers.
However, Rosy was daunted by her lack of first-hand experience in running a busi
ness.
No one in my family has any business experience and they weren t at all familiar wi
th online businesses. So I didn t have any business knowledge passed down to me.
In 2014, Rosy leapt at the chance to take part in a start-up business course wit
h the social enterprise Project Hub Yangon (PHY). The six-month course was the f
irst to exclusively target female entrepreneurs in Myanmar.
The incubation programme gave me the skills to refine my business idea. If I didn t
take part in it, I don t think I would have started my business, she said.
Like many people in Myanmar, where bank loans are virtually unobtainable without
collateral, Rosy lacked funding to back her bright idea. Fortunately, the knowl
edge she acquired through PHY s programme helped her to develop creative solutions
to counter financial constraints, which is an integral part of start-up busines
s methodology.
While still working at the hospital, Rosy began selling Chin fabrics for a handf
ul of Chin women. She photographed the fabrics and uploaded them to her Facebook
page, Rosy s Chin Fabrics, so that she received orders instead of speculatively p
urchasing anything.
I also used my colleagues at the hospital, 99 percent of whom were female, to do
market research. They were all interested in Chin fabrics and I got to know the
price range they were willing to spend.
She also quickly discovered that Myanmar women are eager to wear fabrics belongi
ngs to a different ethnicity.
Bamar women have no problem wearing different fabrics. If the price is right, the
y actually prefer to wear tribal fabrics because it makes them stand out, she exp
lained.
Once she had a sizeable number of orders, Rosy began travelling to Chin State to
source the fabrics.
However Rosy s parents were dismayed to learn that their daughter planned to launc
h an online business rather than continuing her work as a medical officer.
My mother wanted me to have a stable, respected profession. It took me six months
to convince her that I wouldn t give up my medical career entirely and that I cou

ld balance it with my online business,

she said.

By day, Rosy runs her online business and at night she works as a medical consul
tant for a parenting website.