Myanmar is the world’s best tech test market | David Madden | TEDxYangon

Did you know that Myanmar has one of the highest smart phone penetration rates in the world? Tech ecosystem builder David Madden explains how that makes Myanmar the best test market for the global tech community to deliver solutions for the most pressing challenges facing the bottom billion.

David is the Founder & CEO of Phandeeyar (“creation place”), a tech hub that is spearheading the development of Myanmar’s technology and innovation ecosystem. Phandeeyar invests in startups, trains founders and developers, supports civic and social entrepreneurs, and helps change agents use technology to increase their impact. Phandeeyar also runs an open data platform, a Makerspace for hardware hackers, and a co-working facility. Before moving to Myanmar, David was the co-founder of Purpose, a digital strategy agency in New York. He also played leading roles at several tech startups, and co-founded the internationally recognized social movement GetUp.org and the global action network Avaaz.org. In 2016 David was named one of 11 “Agents of Change” by the Nikkei Asian Review. David holds a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, where he was a Fulbright Scholar, and has degrees in Law and Arts from the University of New South Wales.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx