Phnom Penh: The National Incubation Centre of Cambodia funded by the South Korean government has started construction on Friday. Minister of Education, Hang Chuon Naron and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Park Heung-Kheng have led the ground breaking ceremony at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. The NICC building is projected to help students develop their digital potential and will also serve as a meeting place for entrepreneurs and investors.

The Korea International Cooperation Agency has stated that the three-storey building, scheduled to be completed by early 2023, will serve as training and mentoring spaces for Cambodian talented youth to tailor their potentials toward the digital age. KOICA Country Director, Rho Hyunjun says the agency will spend around $2.7million on the construction of the building. He hopes this project will become another milestone to support the digital technology startups ecosystem and market network in Cambodia.

The NICC is part of the Project for “Establishment of Business Incubation System between University and Industry in Cambodia”, signed on grant agreement between KOICA and MoEYS in 2019 drawn from the $8 million budget. KOICA, a governmental agency dedicated to providing Korea’s grant aid programs aims to promote amicable, cooperative relationships and mutual exchanges with developing countries by providing Official Development Assistance programs for their socio-economic development.