Women of the Future

Catherine Smith is Chair of the Professional Women’s Network (under the Chamber) and has been an active board member of the Chamber for more than 4 years. She has lived in Myanmar for more than 7 years, where she has established several successful startups, in business services and tourism, acted as advisor on market entry to overseas companies, and consulted to foreign and local businesses on tourism, marketing, property and consumer services.

Catherine is currently running her own business – Pragma Ventures – which is focused on reviving sericulture in Myanmar. Pragma works with, and trains farmers in Chin State to support mulberry planting for silk production, and then develops hand-woven product for local sale and export.

Catherine is passionate about female empowerment in her business - Pragma runs regular training programs with farmers and weavers to encourage farming communities to amplify the voice of women in daily life, and elevate them to leadership roles.

Khine Zar began her career as a software engineer and is currently employed as an Application Engineer at Rakuten Group Inc. in Japan.

She is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in the Tech industry. As the founder of Women in AI Myanmar and a Technical Programme Director for the Women in AI APAC Chapters, she works to empower women and promote gender equality in the Tech Industry.

In addition to her work with Women in AI, Khine Zar is also the founder of the Thingaha Donation Group, a charity that provides educational resources to underprivileged children in rural Myanmar. Khine Zar's vision for the future is to provide quality education to all children in rural Myanmar, regardless of their economic background. Khine Zar is passionate about giving back to her community through volunteering and believes that collective effort is crucial for positive impact.

May is a self-made business woman-cum-English language teacher. She leads "The SPACE Language Academy", which is a leading language school in the Country, with over 130 women employees, May is visionary leader who inspires young women and supports them to become future leaders.

Win Htet, a semi-professional tennis player and visionary, stands out as one of the few female athletes in her field. As the founder and director of Winner Tennis Academy, she empowers young talents, nurturing them into skilled professional athletes poised to proudly represent Myanmar on both national and global stages.

Zarchi Sawnai is the Founder and Managing Director of Z Productions, the leading production company in Myanmar, known for high quality creative TVCs and Photography Campaigns and for being the first women-led production company in Myanmar.

Zarchi's strong passion for advertising and filmmaking drives her personal involvement in client projects as a strategist and executive producer. Her dynamic leadership and strategic skills have made Z Productions a key player in the industry, producing over 180 commercials for top brands. Zarchi is recognized for her strong commitment to advertising, and she continues to raise the bar in Myanmar's production industry.

Most importantly, she is dedicated to contributing to her community, especially Myanmar’s Youth, by mentoring and sharing her over 10 years of advertising & marketing experience. Furthermore, she is committed to serving as a role model, particularly as a woman business leader adept at navigating and succeeding through adversities and changes in the country.

Phyo Phyo Aung is an established social media influencer with 3 million+ followers across various networks in Myanmar. Phyo is a renowned speaker having made numerous appearances at national conferences, and is widely considered as THE voice of Myanmar’s youth.

She has been actively involved in large-scale business operations since the age of 20; in 2018, she established Chance, Myanmar’s biggest online soft skills’ training platform, which now boasts more than 30,000 active students daily.

Phyo is also the CEO of ShweNote, a leading summary book and audiobook application. Under her leadership ShweNote has experienced remarkable growth, gaining 700,000 download users in only six months, and achieving success and recognition in both the education and e-learning sectors.