Launched Oversea Employee Loan to support employment in Japan

We are pleased to announce that we have launched a new loan, Oversea Employee Loan, to support people in Myanmar to work as technical interns (Ginou Jisshu Sei) and specialized skilled workers (Tokutei Ginou) in Japan.

Over the last decade, there has been a consistent increase in Myanmar people living in Japan, reaching approx. 36,000 people in 2021.ⁱ The Japanese Government and Myanmar Government signed a MOU in 2018 to share the benefits of the Technical Intern Training program and promote international cooperation. After the signing off of the MOU, the number of technical interns and specialized skilled workers have increased significantly, accounting for 40% of the total number of Myanmar people living in Japan in 2021.ⁱⁱ It is expected to see a continuous growth to fill the critical labour gap in Japan due to the shrinking population as well as increasing interest among young people in Myanmar to explore oversea employment opportunities.

Most of young people in Myanmar, however, cannot realise their dream due to the limited access to finance. Some may come from family who may not afford to cover the initial cost of training, travel and relocation to a different country. To immediately address the rapidly changing environtment and increasing needs and oppourtunities, we have decided to swiftly introduce Oversea Employee Loan to the market as a pilot project, with the aim of providing sufficient finance to Myanmar people who wish to go to Japan for their career development. We hope to support those young people who will be skilled up thorugh the training and employement in Japan and bring their experience and expertise back to Myanmar to contribute to the future development of the country.

For successful introduction of Oversea Employee Loan, we have been working with licensed oversea employement agencies in Myanmar to carefully design the loan to meet our customer’s needs by understanding their requirements and any potential barriers to overcome. Working with an oversea employment agency will play a critical role in ensuring loan assessments and timely loan repayments from the clients, which in turn will enable the continuity of the loan product dedicated to support the oversea employment of Myanmar people in Japan.

We have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Kakehashi Myanmar Oversea Employment Agency for the cooperation to establish the pilot project of this Oversea Employee Loan. Kakehashi Myanmar, licensed by Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population as a registered overseas employment agency, sends workers from Myanmar as technical intern trainees and other specialized skill workers to Japan and contributes to transfer of technical skills, technology and knowledge developed and cultivated in Japan to the respective industries and professions in Myanmar. Through the cooperation with Kakehashi Myanmar, the Loan will be provided to candidates who are currently waiting for departure to Japan.

We plan to, upon the successful completion of the pilot project, scale up the provision of the new loan rapidly across the country through further partnerships with oversea employment agencies. We will continue to endeavour to fulfill the needs of our clients though innovation and collaboration with relevant industry experts.

About ASG Bancorp Microfinance Limited

ASG Bancorp Microfinance Limited (ASGB), as part of the Asia Sustainability Group, was founded in 2016, provide individuals and entrepreneurs in Myanmar with useful and affordable financial services that meet their needs in the way they need and when they need. Our vision is to become the most efficient and innovative microfinance institution in Myanmar and provide the best service, most flexibility and most client-orientated financial services.

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