3 also boost margins. 141 Outside of providing market information, ICTs can also be used to distribute pest or weather alerts and subsequent management advice. In Myanmar, Ooredoo has released a mobile agriculture application called ‘The Farmer’ which is designed to promote knowledge sharing among farmers, and to boost crop yields through highlighting best agricultural practices. 142 In the future, technologies like wireless sensing will improve farmer’s ability to collect and utilise information. This might include measuring the nutrient content of soil or measuring nitrogen levels in crop, which can further boost productivity. 143 Impacts on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and Services Increased access to market information through ICTs is also impacting SMEs. During MCRB’s field research, merchants in Shan State noted that ICT usage has decreased travel time and logistics cost. Instead of traveling to the Chinese border at Muse to assess market conditions, merchants now use messaging applications such as Line, WeChat, and Viber to check available stock, coordinate bulk purchases, and arrange transport for goods e.g. textiles from Muse to Taunggyi. Adoption of ICTs is supporting the growth of new businesses and start-ups in Myanmar. Improved telecommunications access has also resulted in new payment options for ecommerce. Myanmar’s national payment network recently offered cardholders (nearly 900,000 in Myanmar) the ability to pay for purchases online using their debit cards. 144 While logistics and shipping pose a challenge to e-commerce providers in Myanmar, local e-commerce offerings are beginning to emerge. 145 McKinsey estimates that Myanmar’s consuming class could expand to 19 million people by 2030. 146 Services are also experiencing growth. A call centre based in Yangon serving customers of mobile-network operators reports receiving around 30,000 calls per week. 147 In addition to e-commerce platforms and services, start-ups have emerged in Myanmar offering educational mobile applications, classified listings for automobiles and jobs, health services, social networks, and search-engines. Many start-ups continue to face operational challenges including hiring qualified employees and accessing capital. To support entrepreneurship, UNESCAP has recommended that policy makers “subsidise start-up costs partially through seed capital and start-up loan programmes”. 148 While access to capital is a problem, ICT start-ups face additional challenges related to ‘copycat’ applications given Myanmar’s lack of intellectual property protections and challenges monetising their services. Paid applications or direct carrier billing are currently not available in the Google Play app store, forcing start-ups to rely on advertising revenue. 141 The World Bank aggregated data from 10 regional studies measuring the impacts of additional market data facilitated by ICTs on farmers, traders, and consumers. See Page 208 of the World Bank’s “ICT in Agriculture Sourcebook“ (last accessed August 2015) for further analysis. 142 For further information, see Ooredoo Myanmar “mAgriculture” (last accessed August 2015). 143 The World Bank, “Increasing Crop, Livestock, and Fishery Productivity through ICT” (2012). 144 “2C2P and Myanmar Payment Union Launch Myanmar’s First E-Commerce Payment Platform”(Feb 2015) 145 See http://www.kaymu.com.mm/ and http://www.zawgyimart.com/ 146 McKinsey Global Institute, “Myanmar’s Moment: Unique Opportunities, Major Challenges” (Jun 2013) p59. 147 Mizzima, “I didn’t expect the market to open so fast” (February 2015). 148 UNESCAP, “A New Policy Framework for Myanmar’s SME” (February 2014), p26. 98 PAGE CHAPTER 3: SECTOR-LEVEL IMPACTS