Ms. Alicja Pawlaczuk has been involved in work for international cooperation for over a decade. She has been responsible for management of numerous projects for various donors , international organizations, including European Union, bilateral donors, UN agencies, as well as private sector companies. Her main areas of expertise are resource mobilization, project management, establishing effective partnerships in view of boosting economic development, and inclusive growth. She has passion for identifying and creating opportunities for economic empowerment and is actively promoting responsible business practices, technology and know-how sharing. She is committed to developing and upgrading professional qualifications and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset of Myanmar people.  

Mr. Evert de Witte is a senior expert in Monitoring and Evaluation of EU / UN development projects mainly in Africa and Asia (over 20 countries) in the field of Local Economic Development (LED), Agricultural Development, Food Security and Trade. He is proficient in international M&E methods and tools and has experience in capacity development concerning Good Governance. His field of interest lays in design and evaluation of LED with the focus on MSMEs and value chains, in view of inclusive growth and regional integration. His personal motivation, shaped into a PhD, lays in comparing results and impact of projects among various regions, with a particular focus on Southeast Asia, experiencing rapid regional economic growth, and ultimately how this can lead to improved programme design.

Ms Maria Burek holds a Masters Degree in Sociology from University of Warsaw and Masters Degree in ASEAN Studies from University of Malaya. She gained experience in managing bespoke research and consultancy projects for SMEs in European Chamber of Commerce in Cambodia, as well as Israeli Trade Office in Warsaw, focusing on water and agriculture sectors. Since moving to Myanmar, she has been engaged in research related to social and socio-economic development, value chain analysis, access to finance (for such entities as Wikimedia Foundation, UN and various INGOs). 

July Soe holds a Masters Degree with the specialization in Agricultural Economics from Yezin Agricultural University, Myanmar. Her master thesis was focused on the FFTC Agricultural Policy Platform (FFTC-AP) Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region. After graduation, she has been engaged in projects in the area of livelihoods, food security, food safety, income generation activities, and nutrition sensitive agriculture. She gained experience working at the INGOs, in project management, reporting, monitoring and evaluation of development projects related to agriculture development. She is also experience in facilitating trainings at Farmer Field Schools (FFS), as well as research, in a role of an enumerator, using quantitative and qualitative approaches for data collection and analysis.

Mrs. Khin Mar Lar is a seasoned financial manager, with over 30 years of experience in financial management and accounting. Throughout her career she worked for a number of private sector companies, as well as non-for-profit organisations. She holds a Bachelor Degree with a specialization in Economic Statistics and a Diploma in Accountancy. She is Myanmar native, with a good command of English language. She is advanced in working with Microsoft Word, Excel (MS Office programs) and a computerized accounting software as Appac, Istock- Integra and IBM.

Ms. Thinzar Thaw, graduated from National Management Degree College in Tourism Management. Additionally gained knowledge on Human Resources Management and Project Management from IQN, UK. Before joining Synergia, she has been working in a role of a Business Development Assistant at A-linker Marketing, a Marketing Team Leader at DedaaBox Total Learning App and a Senior Marketing Consultant at Opengate Pte.,Ltd. With her excellent marketing, customer service and communication skills she is responsible for promoting Synergia trainings, developing and maintaining good relations with our partners and coordinating work on our development projects.

Dr. Nick J. Freeman has over 15 years of experience as a development consultant in Southeast Asia, specialising on private sector development, SME development, fund management and financial sector reform in less developed, developing and transitional economies. He is currently resident in Yangon, having previously spent 12 years living and working in Vietnam. Nick has also worked in Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Thailand. Previous clients have included a wide range of multilateral and bilateral development partner agencies, as well as DFIs, foundations and NGOs, as well as various private sector clients involved in fund management, FDI, risk analyses and business intelligence. Prior to entering development full-time, Nick was a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. He was also previously Head of Indochina Research for ING Barings, as well Baring Securities’ first Vietnam Analyst and Baring plc’s appointed agent in Vietnam. Nick holds a BA in Peace Studies, an MA in Southeast Asia area studies, and a PhD in International Business.

Dr. Luc V. Zwaenepoel is an international development programming and results management specialist with over 30 years of international experience for the WB, EU and the UN, acquired in the Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and South East Asia. His main areas of expertise include private sector development, structural reform, agriculture and rural development. As an evaluation specialist, he gained profound knowledge of the EU procedures. He set up Monitoring & Evaluations systems, introducing improved methods to better measure and manage for development results. He has contributed to the development of guidelines to evaluate sector programmes. He is a certified trainer in Project Cycle Management, evidence based management as well as on the organisation of systemic changes in public administration institutions.

Mr. Felix Haas is an independent consultant based in Myanmar since 2013, where he predominantly supported economic policy reform efforts in the areas of industrial development, SME development, the rural economy as well as the promotion of trade and investment. Projects were at the interface between public and private sector, therefore Felix has sought to assist in “practical economic development” – providing hands-on perspectives on the challenges and opportunities of SME entrepreneurs to policy makers. In addition to work with public sector clients such as the World Bank Group, UNIDO, GIZ, the Netherlands Government and various NGOs, Felix Haas offers consultancy services to local and international companies in the areas of development consulting, SME internationalization (EU Myanmar Centre), real estate development (Myanmar Property Solutions), technology transfer (CoStruct.co) and market launch services (e.g. Myanmar Business Answers). He has supported different CSOs, entrepreneurs and initiatives in agricultural market system in particular in the conflict-affected border areas of Myanmar for inclusive economic growth.

Kaung Myat Htun, Trainer graduated from Middlesex University, UK in 2004 with a specialization in Business Information Systems. After working for the Myanmar government, he became a professional lecturer/trainer for private institutions. Currently, Kaung Myat is pursuing a Doctor of Business Administration from Victoria University, Switzerland, where he conducts research in the field of social media and SMEs. Kaung Myat is the publisher of several IT-related books and is a contributor to the Myanmar local monthly magazine B2B Management Magazine.

U Kyaw Kyaw Thwin is the CEO of Group of Development Research & Index (GDRI) and has over 30 years of experience in management, consulting, training, and community development in Myanmar, and was involved in a number of projects in the agriculture sector.

Over the years, U Kyaw Kyaw Thwin has consulted and worked for numerous development organizations like USAID/IFDC, IFAD-LBVD, GEI, IFAD, ADB, FAO, DFID, Sida/ Pyoepin, CARE Myanmar, German Agro Action, Action Contre La Faim, various other UN Agencies, and INGOs, LNGOs and the Myanmar Agriculture Service. He has been involved in the Organizational Development Programmes, through the Farmer Field Schools (FFS), in particular, his interpersonal skills, management, way of approaching to the farmers/trainees, and technical skills have been fully demonstrated in the success of various trainings with tangible outcomes.