02 Oct 2018
Women for climate resilience in Cambodia
Report
from UN Democracy Fund

Climate resilience is essential to building sustainable communities. Women play a key role in local adaptation and mitigation efforts with regard to climate change, but in Cambodia they have limited access to decision-making processes.
The Cambodian Development Resource Institute under its UNDEF grant is empowering women and women’s groups to promote and advocate for climate change adaptation initiatives. The project started in 2017 and focuses on four provinces in the country aiming to train local women, and form climate change groups to analyze the climate change risks to their communities and to propose ways to enhance resilience against negative effects of natural disasters such as landslides, floods, and droughts. Women groups are encouraged to submit specific proposals to commune councils and are also implementing independent small-scale initiatives that are funded through small grants.
Mikiko Sawanishi, UNDEF Deputy Head, visited Rong Domrey and Rakchey communes, Prey Veng Province, and met with women’s climate change leadership groups identifying challenges and possible actions to adapt to the effects of climate change in their communes.
https://reliefweb.int/report/cambodia/w ... e-cambodia

Cambodia’s Women Entrepreneurs Aim to Scale Up
October 07, 2018 0:30 AM

Sreat Mom Sophear, founder and CEO of SOPHIYA Corp. and vice president of Cambodian Women Entrepreneur Association, attends a meeting at the U.S. Embassy in Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Sept. 10, 2018. (Rick Albertson, U.S. Embassy in Cambodia)

WASHINGTON — As a child, Sreat Mom Sophear never dreamed of growing up to become a business leader, even though she grew up in a business-oriented household. But today, the founder and CEO of SOPHIYA Corp. is one of Cambodia’s pioneering women entrepreneurs.

Sreat Mom Sophear started SOPHIYA, which provides tourism, home management, spa wellness and beauty services, in 2005. At the time, she did not understand entrepreneurship, which the Harvard Business Review defines as “the pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled.”

“All I thought was about making money,” the 36-year-old said.

That has changed as her Phnom Penh-based company grew to employ more than 65 people.

“It’s not only about me and my business. It is also about helping others, providing job opportunities to people and contributing to the economy,” Sreat Mom Sophear told VOA during her visit to the United States under the State Department’s International Leadership Visitor Program for 10 days in September.
https://www.voanews.com/a/cambodias-wom ... 03006.html

It's encouraging to see some Cambodian women on the shortlists for the Women of the Future Awards for Southeast Asia 2019.

US-Funded Project ‘We Next’ Aims to Empower Young Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs
23 November 2018
The five-year project will be run in three major cities: Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Battambang.
PHNOM PENH — The US international development agency USAID has sponsored a program in Cambodia that aims to empower young women entrepreneurs to get a head start in business.

The project, We Next, was launched last week with the support of NGO Pact and will see Cambodian women entrepreneurs collaborate on the opportunities and challenges for women doing business in Cambodia.

William Heidt, the US ambassador, said at the opening event that the government had taken steps to reduce the tax burden on small enterprises and cut down on red tape, both of which are seen as a barrier to women succeeding in business in the Kingdom.

He added that another US-sponsored program will loan some $30 million to women-owned enterprises with support from Cambodian corporations OPIC and ACLEDA.

Heidt, who will vacate his post this month, said there was vast potential for Cambodian businesses to thrive internationally and hoped the new program would help to give women in business a boost.

He said We Next would help women entrepreneurs improve their technology skills, leadership abilities and business management systems, as well as accessing finance and legal support.
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/us-funded ... 69998.html

Gender inequality stifling Cambodian women in finance sector
By: Janelle Retka - Posted on: August 9, 2018 | Business

Cambodian women are traditionally charged with overseeing their families’ finances once the paycheque comes home. But while this skillset remains an essential part of Cambodia’s economy, what more can the financial sector do to take advantage of this home-grown expertise?

Even within financial institutions, women are a primary handler of money. Of Wing’s roughly 5,000 agents, 65% are female, according to Kanha. Walk into any commercial bank in the Kingdom, and the counter will likely be lined with female tellers in matching uniforms.

But Sopheap of GADC said this link between women’s leadership in finances at home and in the financial sector often ends at the teller counter.

“In terms of finance, women get more jobs,” she said. “But in the higher positions, it’s men because society doesn’t [recognise] that the women manage money. Even if you are very good at this, the trust is still unseen in the value of women in that manager position.”

Sothany of First Finance agreed: “If you go to the commercial bank… and you look at the counter, the tellers who [are] taking the money from the clients generally are women, but if you meet the consultant or you meet the banker who talks to you about all the financial products –the salespeople, for example – it’s generally men.” Chun Sothany is the CEO of First Finance, the country’s only licensed specialist mortgage provider.

Sothany climbed the financial ladder herself, she said, so she speaks from experience. After studying accounting, she started working in 2002 as an internal auditor for global NGO World Vision, eventually ascending to a position in their credit programme. She went on to become a business development manager for Vision Fund before being recruited as a sales team manager for Wing’s launch in 2008, and was promoted to operations manager less than two years later. This experience helped her land the role of chief financial officer at First Finance in 2011 and her current position as CEO.

http://sea-globe.com/gender-inequality- ... ce-sector/

‘Stop judging us’ / Kokopon founder on female entrepreneurs in Cambodia
By: Robin Spiess - Posted on: January 7, 2019 | Business

In Cambodia, e-commerce businesses are among the most popular in the startup world. As local use of mobile wallets becomes more widespread, a new startup has come onto the market to allow locals to buy online via Facebook messenger — and be connected with hundreds of coupons at the same time, making their online shopping even more appealing than travelling to the store. Southeast Asia Globe talks to Sokneang N Nodzak, the founder of freshly-launched startup Kokopon, to discuss her business idea and her experience as a female entrepreneur in Cambodia...
http://sea-globe.com/kokopon-founder-on ... -cambodia/

Ministry Calls for Nominations for Woman Techies Award
13 February 2019
Five awards will be presented this year compared with just one last year: for entrepreneurship, engineering, community development, digital multimedia, and innovation.
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s telecommunication ministry has called for applicants to this year’s Women in Tech award.

The award is granted each year to women who excelled in the development of the IT sector.

Five awards will be presented this year compared with just one last year: for entrepreneurship, engineering, community development, digital multimedia, and innovation.

Yim Hout Healy, an award coordinator, said many potential applicants had turned down the pilot program last year due to “shortfalls” in its organization.

The overly competitive process put off candidates last year, Hout Healy added, which led the ministry to create more awards this time around.

"Students can also participate in this 2019 Tech Award providing that they know which category they fit in [even] if they are college students, bloggers, or YouTubers, who create content on Facebook or on any other social media platforms," she said.

Kan Channmeta, a secretary of state at the ministry, said the awards were intended to recognize the “crucial roles” women play in national economic and technological progress.
https://www.voacambodia.com/a/ministry- ... 83536.html

$15 for AusCham and BritCham members
$20 for non-members

Note that 11 March is on a Monday, not a Tuesday.

Note also that International Women's Day is on 8 March, and it is a public holiday in Cambodia.