Driving women's entrepreneurial talent – from mining to longan
Sponsored | Publication date 23 December 2020 | 10:23 ICT

Oeurn Samon, longan farmer and one of Amret’s many successful clients.

Coming from a struggling second-generation farming family with original roots bound to the business of traditional gemstone mining in Pailin Province, Ouern Samon shares her life journey of transformation, accomplishment and success with us.

Q. Tell us about yourself

Married with two children, I am 33 years old and own a longan farm and trading business in Pailin. Starting with just two hectares of farming land, I now own a 13-hectare longan plantation in my hometown that distributes up to 10 tonnes of fresh longan every week.

I was born into a traditional gemstone mining family. Although my parents were struggling financially when I was growing up, they managed to provide adequately for us during the mining boom. However, it all changed drastically when my father passed away unexpectedly in 1999. And being a widowed single parent, my mother had to shoulder the sole responsibility of supporting a family with two young children.

Years later with the gemstone mining industry in decline, our family’s financial situation deteriorated to the point that on some days my mother was unable to generate any income at all. This prompted her to turn to farming in order to supplement the family’s meagre income derived from mining work as I turned 15. Although my mother’s venture into farming provided our family with an additional source of income, it did very little to make a big difference.

It all improved and changed for the better financially for the family when I got married and started a longan business in 2010.
Full interview: https://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ ... ing-longan

Campaign sets out to inspire young women into leadership
Voun Dara | Publication date 12 January 2021 | 22:14 ICT

The Cambodian Women Parliamentarians Caucus (CWPC) has launched the “Girl2Leader Cambodia” campaign to share experience and knowledge with young women throughout the country, instilling in them ideas of responsibility, decision-making and women’s leadership in politics.

Lork Kheng – chairperson for the National Assembly’s (NA) Commission on Healthcare; Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation; Labour and Vocational Training; and Women’s Affairs – told The Post on January 11 that this campaign had been launched five times since last year: three times in Phnom Penh and once each in Kandal and Kratie provinces.

“The focus of our campaign is to communicate with girls studying in high school to pave the way for them in terms of instilling ideas and dreams for choosing jobs and careers in the future. We hope to facilitate their development into courageous, independent thinkers,” she said.

Kheng noted that previous iterations of the campaign had seen enthusiastic participation from young women, and the new campaign is slated to be introduced in all provinces.

Cambodian Centre for Human Rights executive director Chak Sopheap lauded the campaign as an initiative which can positively contribute to gender equality by promoting widespread acceptance of women taking leadership roles in society.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... leadership

US Ambassador Meets with Hard Working Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs

13 February 2021
Ambassador W. Patrick Murphy was glad to meet some of Cambodia’s most dynamic Women Entrepreneurs, doing great things to support the economy, achieving gender equality, & mentoring the next generation of women business leaders.
US Embassy FB page

World Bank says Cambodian Women Rank Above Average in Terms of Business and the Law
AKP Phnom Penh, February 24, 2021 --

Cambodian women rank above the average for lower-middle income economies when it comes to business and the law, the World Bank said Wednesday.

In a report released in Washington overnight, the bank said Cambodia scored 75 points out of a possible 100 points — slightly below the Philippines (78.8 points) and Thailand (78.1 points)

The average for women from lower-middle-income economies was 70.8 points, the report said.

Cambodian women ranked much higher than those in Indonesia (64.4 points), Myanmar (58.8 points), Brunei (53.1 points) and Malaysia (50.0 points).

The top-ranked ASEAN countries were Laos (88.1 points), Singapore (82.5 points) and Vietnam (81.9 points).

Cambodian women scored a full 100 points for four indicators — freedom of movement, laws affecting women’s decision to work, starting and running a business, and property and inheritance.

Cambodia also scored relatively well for women being able to get married (80 points) and laws and regulations affecting women’s pay (75 points).

But Cambodian women scored poorly in terms of laws affecting the size of pensions (25 points) and working after having children (20 points).

In a statement accompanying the report, the World Bank said that working after having children “is the area that leaves the most room for improvement globally.

“This includes paid parental leave, whether benefits are administered by the government, and whether the dismissal of pregnant women is prohibited,” it said.

“Reforms are also needed to address the restrictions women face in the type of jobs, tasks, and hours they can work, segregating them into lower paid jobs.”
https://www.akp.gov.kh/post/detail/227525

March 12, 2021
Five women come together to promote women’s rights in Cambodia
Rhea Mae Soco / Khmer Times

(L to R) Laura Mam, Adana Mam-Legros, Kaliane Tea, Lomorpich Rithy (Yoki), Nary Ung. Supplied

Three generations of five strong women have come together to celebrate International Women’s Day through a week-long series of digital-based campaigns to promote women’s rights amid the COVID-19 outbreak in the Kingdom.

Adana Mam-Legros, Kaliane Tea, Lomorpich Rithy, Laura Mam, and Nary Ung started their digital campaign on Monday and it is scheduled to go on until March 15.

The campaign includes a music video and profile series for the song ’‘Just like you’’ released by Baramey Production Company, featuring inspiring stories of women from three different generations and a series of coffee talks driven by Generation C Cambodia and Women in the City.

The music video is performed by Mam featuring Vannda and directed by Rithy. The song is for all women, showing the real-life stories of three inspiring women from three different generations who struggled for their dreams and achieved more than anyone ever expected.

Mam is a singer-songwriter of original music in Khmer merged into Western styles of music while Rithy (Yoki) is a former producer/director at the BBC Media Action and the founder of PlerngKob (“Campfire” in English), a dynamic young group of individuals passionate about the arts and film.

Legros, a French-Cambodian artist, activist and co-founder and resident of Generation C Cambodia, said with the year hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need for global resiliency and to stand-up for solidarity.

“This difficult time has forged a new world for us to live in together with complementarity. Celebrating International Women’s Day is for women and men to take on responsibilities together in our community. Reaffirming that we belong to a single humanity,” she said.

Meanwhile, the digital series of Coffee Talks will involve speakers talking on three topics namely Women in Leadership, Cultural and Social Representation of Women in Cambodia, and Women and Health During the COVID-19 Crisis.

The speakers include Tea, the vice president of the Women in the City organisation who has organised social and cultural events in collaboration with artists in Paris, Brussels and Phnom Penh.

Women in the City, an informal solidarity network founded by Ung, a French-Cambodian woman aiming to awaken the consciousness and senses by creating links and building bridges between unique women from all fields in Cambodia, through a series of events, conferences and informal gatherings.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50823861/f ... -cambodia/

Report reveals snags for Cambodian women, youth on path to leadership roles
Tuesday, 23 Mar 2021
1:46 PM MYT

PHNOM PENH (The Phnom Penh Post/ANN): Transparency International (TI) Cambodia on Friday (March 19) released a survey report on the challenges of women and youth in leadership roles in Cambodia. The report recommended the government, NGOs, relevant ministries and institutions to promote women and youth in decision-making positions.

The survey was conducted from June 2019 to January 2020 with a total of 569 respondents in the form of in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and desk reviews.

The respondents were officers from national level and sub-national state authorities in five provinces. In addition, 16 monks and 10 LGBTIQ people were also interviewed.

The report said women still bear family burdens such as taking care of children. They are not motivated by parents or teachers to be leaders. In public institutions, they face the dominance of men, lack of trust of their abilities due to being young and less experienced.

They also have to endure social norms such as ‘Chbab Srey’, which literally means ‘law for women’, and the opinion that women are physically weak.
https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... ship-roles

April 5, 2021
New president for Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Association
Sok Chan / Khmer Times

Keo Mom, CEO of Lyly Food Industry, has been elected as the new president of the Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Association.

Keo Mom, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Lyly Food Industry, has been elected as the new president of the Cambodian Women Entrepreneurs Association (CWEA) for its fourth mandate. Her term will last from 2021-2024.

She says she is committed to bringing women entrepreneurs together in joining the association and establishing the CWEA in all of the provinces and cities across the country. Mom added that the association will join the Ministry of Women Affairs in establishing the Women’s Entrepreneur Development Centre (WEDC).

Mom made a special appeal to CWEA members to register for a COVID-19 vaccination, saying it was the organisation’s first priority. She added that the CWEA will send its list of member’s registrations to the Ministry of Women Affairs to request vaccinations.
“We hope that when the spread of COVID-19 slows down, our businesses will resume operations normally,” Mom added.

She added that the purpose of having CWEA branches nationwide is to improve women’s businesses in the provinces.

“The challenges on women are more than on men in business. Therefore, we want to mobilise all the women in the country as one voice to show unity, solidarity and peace. We provide training to women to promote their capability to develop their families, society and the economy. We also help them to expand and strengthen their businesses from micro-businesses to small, medium and large businesses through networking within the association and market expansion,” Mom added.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50834182/n ... sociation/

A great story of overcoming the odds...

Speaking Up for Indigenous Girls and Women

As an indigenous Brao in Ratanakiri Province, 25-year-old Pisey has already broken the glass ceiling when she overcame financial hardships and cultural barriers and received an opportunity to study in Norway and the United States.

Sao Phal Niseiy 11/04/2021 4:21 PM

Soy Pisey is determined to change attitudes towards education in the Brao community and stand up for the rights of all indigenous peoples in Cambodia.
PHNOM PENH--Getting a chance to pursue higher education remains a challenge for young girls in indigenous communities in Cambodia. Many are still constrained by poverty and a long-standing expectation to drop out of school and marry at a young age.

However, a 25-year-old indigenous Brao woman in Ratanakiri Province has already broken the glass ceiling when she overcame financial hardships and cultural barriers and received an opportunity to study in Norway and the United States.

Born to a Brao mother and a Cambodian father in Phnom Svay Village, which is located in Banlung City’s Boeng Kanseng Commune, Soy Pisey is the eldest of three children.

After six years studying abroad, she has become the first Brao woman to receive an undergraduate degree overseas.

With the knowledge she acquired in foreign countries, Pisey hopes to use it to promote education for girls and young women, she said. She would like to share her personal experience and stories with other girls and women in remote communities to encourage them to have a dream and prioritize studies. And she also seeks to alter the conservative perception among elder people in her communities, encouraging them to be more supportive of girls and young women who dare to make their own life decisions.

Having returned to Cambodia after her graduation in May 2020, Pisey currently works as a communication officer at the non-profit organization United World School in Ratanakiri Province.

Childhood adversity: her parents’ divorce left the family destitute

Speaking of her childhood, Pisey recalled the hardship her family endured following the divorce of her parents as her father no longer provided the family with any financial support, which left her mother desperate with a family to care for.

“When my parents divorced, my whole family struggled a lot as my mom didn’t have the capability to work,” Pisey said. “She didn’t have knowledge as she had been forced to marry at a young age as an indigenous woman. She was illiterate and had not gotten used to working [at a job] before. It was extremely difficult in our lives back then.”

As she was just 12 years old, Pisey said she didn’t understand what divorce meant and especially its implication for her life as a child and the entire family.

“I was just able to understand when I reached grade 7,” she said. “I didn’t have money to study and there was no one supporting me and the family financially. I really grasped the reality of having parents who had separated.”
https://cambodianess.com/article/speaki ... -and-women

ADB to Host Ignite Talks “Women in Leadership: The Journey of Becoming” This Weekend
AKP Phnom Penh, June 24, 2021 --

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), in cooperation with Ignite Cambodia, will host the Ignite Talks on June 26 afternoon under the theme “Women in Leadership: The Journey of Becoming.”

ADB Country Director for Cambodia Ms. Sunniya Durrani-Jamal will deliver the opening keynote speech to encourage more women to take on leadership roles in Cambodia.

“ADB recognises that female leadership, as well as gender equality, is critical to accelerating the outcomes in five areas: economic empowerment, human development, leadership, poverty reduction, and resilience to external shocks,” said Ms. Durrani-Jamal.

According to an ADB’s release, the online event, which also features other prominent female leaders and entrepreneurs, reflects ADB’s commitment to gender equality as stated in the Country Partnership Strategy 2019-2023 for Cambodia.

Women in Leadership is the theme of the 2021 International Women’s Day celebration. The event will also include remarks by: H.E. Sorita Koung, Undersecretary of State at Ministry of Women’s Affairs; H.E. Chhunhak The, Director General of Gender Equality and Economic Development; Ms. Vichekal Tema, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of Phnom Penh Capital Administration; Ms. Aphivath Keat, CEO and Founder, Thyrada Co., Ltd.; Ms. Kounila Keo, Managing Partner, Mekhala Radiant Communication; Ms. Lida Loem, Co-Founder, SHE Investment; Ms. Pisey Khun, CEO and Founder, Workingna; Ms. Kokneang Neng, CEO, Kokopon; Ms. Sreylin Meng, CEO and Co-Founder, Smart Farm Assistance.
C. Nika
AKP

March 9, 2022
Cambodia women overcome biz barriers, Covid challenges

The pandemic has struck businesses across the globe, but women-led businesses have been disproportionately and negatively impacted by the pandemic.

Women entrepreneurs face a myriad of challenges in setting up and sustaining their businesses. From the impact of the pandemic to gender stereotypes and the glass ceiling, women typically face several barriers that prevent their businesses from thriving. Despite these challenges, more than half of the businesses launched during the Covid-19 pandemic in Cambodia were started by women.

The need to promote gender equality and drive economic empowerment among women-led businesses in the post-Covid world is more important than ever. This is also why this year’s International Women’s Day theme is particularly relevant – #BreaktheBias, with the goal to encourage people around the world to envision a gender-equal world that is free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.

“The cash flow during Covid-19 crisis was the most challenging thing I had to face while running my business. To solve this, I decided to apply for grants and I got two, from Khmer Enterprise and Wellbeing Advancement in 2021,” Di Vichra, founder of Phka Doung, a social business specialising in making coconut oil and coconut-based products, said.

Di Vichra also explained how she used digital marketing techniques and Meta platforms to run her business: “Everybody in Cambodia is using Facebook, so that’s the place to be as a business owner. I create different types of content for the purpose of starting a conversation with followers, motivating them through raising product awareness, showing them how our products are made, where our raw materials are collected from, sharing business stories, health, skin tips, parenting tips and more.”

Instagram has been a key platform for entrepreneur Luna Chenla, who recently started Fluff, a baking company focused on homemade treats prepared with high-quality local ingredients. “I started Fluff by just posting a couple of pictures of our products on Instagram, and we have grown some organic customer base through there. We post regularly and try to be as personable as we can.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501038338/ ... hallenges/