Phnom Penh: Southeast Asia is proving to be a lucrative place for start-ups, with entrepreneurs around the region succeeding in raising billions of dollars for innovative new ventures. Just think of Grab, the app many of us use daily for transportation and deliveries, which was born only 9 years ago in Singapore and arrived in Cambodia in 2017. The company has since had several rounds of fundraising, netting an impressive $6.5-billion. It is now the first so-called “Decacorn” in the region, a title for a start-up with a valuation of over $10-billion, being now worth close to $40-billion.

If you’re in Cambodia, entrepreneurs are being helped by organizations like Impact Hub Phnom Penh. It provides incubation programmes, mentoring, workshops and online learning.

EAC News spoke to its Ventures Support Director, Ms. Melanie Mossard. She says right now the organization is focusing on building entrepreneurial skills among students and young graduates. She says a platform has been developed in partnership with Smart, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Education, building a curriculum for universities to teach entrepreneurship in Khmer. Impact Hub plans to start concentrating on four main areas for Cambodia: sustainable food and agriculture, Smart & Sustainable cities, the environment and sustainable tourism.

When asked what she loves about working for Impact Hub, she said: “We’re constantly in touch with young innovators who decide to work on solving Cambodia’s most pressing issues through their work. They want to bring sustainable change to the country and their efforts and commitment are inspiring”.