SBN Myanmar 2nd Term Chair Acceptance Speech

Acceptance Speech, Chair of the Executive Board

of Scaling Up Nutrition Business Network (SBN) Myanmar

3rd December 2024

Zealax Hotel, Yangon

Mingalabar and good afternoon, everyone.

First of all, allow me to express my deepest gratitude to all of you—for the trust you’ve placed in me once again to serve as the Chair of the Executive Board of SBN Myanmar. It is both humbling and energizing to be re-elected for a second term, and I want to thank each and every one of you who walked this journey with me over the past two years.

To my fellow Executive Board members, the leadership and WFP colleagues, and especially Dr. Zarni Htet Hlaing, thank you for your unwavering commitment, patience, and collaboration. I would also like to acknowledge all our colleagues from UN agencies, NGO, INGOs, donors, and of course, our growing community of businesses who continue to make this network vibrant and meaningful.

Today’s election and Annual General Meeting are not just procedural milestones—they are a chance to reflect on where we are, and more importantly, where we are going.

We are meeting at a time when climate change is no longer a distant warning—it is an active disruptor of food systems across the world. And Myanmar is no exception. From erratic rainfall to rising input costs, the ripple effects are real—and they ultimately converge on one issue that is central to all of us: nutrition.

No matter what we do—whether it’s reducing food loss, improving food safety, or increasing market access—our actions must ultimately translate into improved nutrition outcomes. Because if they don’t, then we have missed the point. Every investment, every innovation, every intervention in the food value chain must bring us closer to a nutritious, dignified, and resilient future.

And in a context like Myanmar—where formal central institutions are weakened or fragmented—networks like SBN become more important than ever. We cannot rely on hierarchy alone. What we need now is horizontal trust—peer-to-peer mechanisms that allow us to check, support, and learn from one another.

As I shared in my remarks, no single individual can build a functioning food factory on their own. Just like no single generation could have designed an airplane from scratch. These are groupthink achievements—layered over time, built through shared knowledge, shared effort, and shared trust.

In the same way, this network must continue to evolve as a living knowledge system—where private sector actors not only scale their businesses, but scale up nutrition for all.

So today, as I begin my second term, I make this commitment again: I will do my very best to serve this network—with the full capacity I have, with the resources we can unlock, and with the global relationships I’ve built through other platforms and initiatives. I will work to deepen our internal coordination, increase visibility, and expand what SBN can offer—not just to our members, but to broader Myanmar.

Together, let’s ensure that the private sector is not just part of the food system—but part of the nutrition solution.

Thank you very much.

END OF SPEECH