|Insein|11|10|10|9|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Total**|**122**|**130**|**121**|**140**|

Once the townships were selected, we proceeded with the selection of urban blocks in which to carry out the enumeration and the selection of firms. Four starting points were selected per township and at least 10 interviews were conducted per starting point, giving a total of 40 interviews per township. For the selection of respondents, interviewers had to first pick a corner as a starting point. From there the interviewers walked around the block in search of enterprises within the four sectors included in the survey, with a target of ten interviews to complete in each Enumeration Area (EA). When an enterprise was identified, a screening questionnaire was used to determine if that enterprise met the requirements of firms to be included in the study.<sup>20</sup> When an enterprise was deemed eligible, interviews were conducted with owners or managers and the findings are presented based on the owners’ perspective. Enumerator training included a detailed explanation of the background and objectives of the survey, as well as an explanation of the rights of respondents, including privacy. The training also included sampling design, call-back procedures, detailed explanation of the questionnaire, question by question and a comprehensive discussion of probing. Moreover, respondent confidentiality, quality control procedures, and how to adopt a gender sensitive approach when interviewing respondents, were also covered.

The sample was purposely selected to have a rough share of 30 percent male-owned firms and 70 percent femaleowned businesses. Indeed 379 women were interviewed, of which 317 (84 percent) were owners. 134 men were interviewed, 73 of which (54 percent) were owners. The interviews were conducted face-to-face.

# • **Snapshot of the business environment**

In this section we provide an overall snapshot of the business environment of the firms in the sample, highlighting some of the most interesting findings stemming from the MGES survey.<sup>21</sup>

**Women tend to operate smaller, younger, and home-based businesses.** Starting with firm-level characteristics, one of the relationships that stands out is between the size of the firm and the gender of the owner: women are more likely to be part of smaller firms than men. Women are also more likely to have their businesses at home, implying that they usually sleep and work in the same location. This could indicate the limiting influence of cultural and gender-based traditions in the opportunities to establish a business, as well as family obligations that may prevent them from growing their business. These include family discouragement towards women becoming entrepreneurs and mobility restrictions constraining women’s access to markets (places where they can go and cannot go, security issues).<sup>22</sup> Moreover, there is also a relationship between the size of the firm and number of years in operation. While 48 percent of micro firms have been operating for 5 years or less, larger firms have been in the business for a longer time. In fact, 37 percent of small, and 40 percent of medium sized firms have been operating for 11 years or more.

> 20 Myanmar Gender Entrepreneurship Survey Report, Myanmar Survey Research, 2019. 21 This section also relies on the MGES report, Myanmar Survey Research, 2019. 22 ILO and Sasakawa, National Assessment of Women’s Entrepreneurship Development Framework Conditions – Myanmar, Draft executive summary.

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