‘We Love Rakhine’ Facebook page posts free ads for Arakan products

By DMG 20 Dec 2021

DMG Newsroom
20 December 2021, Sittwe 

Local products from various Arakan (Rakhine) State townships are being made known locally and abroad and the market is being expanded through free online advertising and direct contact between sellers and buyers, according to We Love Rakhine, a Facebook page. 

Ko Tin Nyein Oo, vice chairman of We Love Rakhine, said they are doing this by posting free advertisements for Arakan products on their Facebook page under the “Made in Rakhine” banner. 

“Currently, the products produced in Arakan State are still little-known. Therefore, we will sell Arakan products to the whole country. If the manufacturers ask for help from us, we will post their products on our Facebook page. By doing so, we aim to grow Arakan products not only domestically but also internationally,” Ko Tin Nyein Oo added. 

Those who want to sell Arakan products can contact the Made in Rakhine Facebook page via the social network’s Messenger feature, and their products and prices will be displayed on the page, according to organisers of the initiative. 

“This aims to expand Arakan products in the market and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Arakan State. And this is part of our organisation’s plan,” Ko Tin Nyein Oo said. 

“This is a good sign; SMEs in Arakan State have been facing problems such as lack of entrepreneurial ideas, land and financing, and a shortage of skilled workers,” said U Khin Maung Gyi, vice chairman of Rakhine Economic Initiative Public Co Ltd (REIC). 

“This is basically good because it advertises for SMEs in Arakan State. However, there are still some SME entrepreneurs in Arakan State who have not been able to take risks. It also depends a lot on the current political and economic situation,” he added. 

The government needs to gain control over Myanmar’s current political, economic and banking situations in order to ensure the development of SMEs in Arakan State, U Khin Maung Gyi said. 

Arakan State is one of the poorest states in Myanmar, and has very few SMEs.