PHNOM PENH, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Cambodia on Tuesday signed a new partnership with the Khmer Enterprise to promote entrepreneurship training for Cambodia's young entrepreneurs and to support the development of the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector in the kingdom, according to UNDP Cambodia on Wednesday.
The Khmer Enterprise is an implementation unit of the Entrepreneurship Development Fund established by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
This partnership aims specifically to ensure that Cambodia's next generation of entrepreneurs are well-equipped with practical world-class training and mentorship, and have access to suitable funding and investment readiness support at the early stages of their startups, said a UNDP press release.
The partnership also lays the foundation for UNDP Cambodia and the Khmer Enterprise to re-enforce their common efforts in improving the SME ecosystem through providing technical and financial support to SMEs in priority sectors, including e-commerce and sustainable SME cluster development, the press release added.
"UNDP is very pleased to partner with Khmer Enterprise to create opportunities, and to provide training and support to help the next generation of young entrepreneurs and professionals develop and thrive," said Nick Beresford, UNDP Resident Representative.
"Never has it been more important to invest in young people and their talent and energy as we find ways to manage and recover from the COVID-19 crisis," he added.
Chhieng Vanmunin, CEO of Khmer Enterprise, said Khmer Enterprise is proud to collaborate with UNDP Cambodia to create the Business Incubation Program which promotes decent youth employment and entrepreneurship development.
"This is aligned to KE's vision and mission to become the National Platform for promoting entrepreneurial activities," he said. "Through this strategic collaboration, we hope to create a synergic platform, and its impact on young aspiring entrepreneurs and SMEs in the country would greatly be amplified."
Under this partnership, a business incubation program called Bluetribe was launched in May for Cambodia's talented youth who have a strong interest in becoming successful entrepreneurs, the press release said.
The program will provide selected youth with quality training and mentorship as well as access to seed funding to start and build their businesses, it said, adding that the program application remains open until the first week of June. Enditem
