Craft to Commerce 2025: Showcasing Myanmar’s Textile Potential

Growth entrepreneurship
23.12.2025
In November 2025, Craft to Commerce 2025 brought together 49 textile MSMEs and nearly 500 visitors at The Secretariat Yangon. The event highlighted Myanmar’s rich tradition of handwoven textiles and innovative value-added products. It created a vibrant space for sales, partnerships, and shared learning on new business models and sector innovations.  

This event was organized by Swisscontact in collaboration with Impact Hub Yangon and ASK Solutions and supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The event featured two components: Learning & Capitalization Event and Creative Threads Product Showcase.  Over two days, the event created a meaningful space for market actors to reflect on evidence-based progress across Myanmar’s textile value chains. Through showcases and dialogue, participants explored market incentives, key bottlenecks, and opportunities for upgrading and collaboration.

Over two days, participants reflected on progress in Myanmar’s textile value chains and explored ways to overcome challenges. Through product showcases and interactive dialogues, the event focused on:

  • Market incentives and emerging trends
  • Key bottlenecks in production and marketing
  • Opportunities for upgrading and collaboration

The showcase featured 35 MSMEs, including five external enterprises presenting advanced craft innovations. These businesses gained significant visibility, generating sales worth 39 million MMK and building connections with domestic buyers. Brands also engaged with designers, retailers, sourcing agents, and development partners, expanding their networks and market reach.

Alongside the showcase, MSME owners participated in case studies, panel discussions, and peer-to-peer learning sessions. These activities helped businesses to:

  • Improve understanding of product quality, design, and production efficiency to close competitiveness gaps.
  • Gain insights into pricing strategies, branding, and aggregation models.
  • Acquire practical knowledge to strengthen business models and market readiness.
  • Build stronger networks with producers, designers, buyers, and service providers, fostering collaboration and replication.

Swisscontact aims to build a resilient and competitive textile industry across Mon State, Mandalay Region, Southern Shan State, and Yangon Region. By supporting MSMEs and home-based producers to improve quality, diversify products, and strengthen market linkages, Swisscontact contributes to sustainable growth, job creation, and value addition in domestic and regional markets.

Craft to Commerce 2025 was more than a product showcase - it celebrated the talent, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit driving Myanmar’s textile sector forward.

2014 - 2027
Myanmar
Initial vocational education and training, Sustainable tourism
Vocational Skills Development Project (VSDP)
The project provides skills development opportunities to learners from disadvantaged background to enhance employment and self-employment opportunities and establishes access for MSMEs to finance, advisory and business development services to improve their overall business performance and to become more resilient.