2018 MBI ANNUAL REPORT
Author: Mekong Business Initiative
Publication date: 2019
Executive Summary
The Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) was launched by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Australian Government in early 2015 to catalyse private sector development through improvements in the business-enabling environments of emerging ASEAN markets co-inhabiting the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, and Viet Nam – collectively ASEAN-4 or CLMV. The program aims to improve the business-enabling environment in these four emerging ASEAN markets with a particular focus on business advocacy, alternative finance, and innovation.
Since 2015, MBI has met or exceeded all of its outcome indicator targets contributing an improved business enabling-environment through improving the competitiveness, investment settings, and regional integration of its target markets. In 2018 MBI achieved and sustained significant results particularly across its industry accelerators, commercial agrifinance in Myanmar, and Public Private Dialogue in Lao PDR. MBI’s earlier interventions also continued to drive and sustain economic reform across all target countries throughout 2018. Overall sustainability has been facilitated by MBI’s unique approach to implementation through partnering with a diverse array of industry and government partners with a long-term interest and ownership stake in MBI’s outcomes.
MBI also continued to act as a catalyst for attracting investment and interest in emerging ASEAN markets through its piloting of initiatives and demonstration of proof of concepts across key sectors.
