MESSAGE FROM CWEA PRESIDENT OKNHA. KEO MOM

MESSAGE FROM CWEA PRESIDENT OKNHA. KEO MOM

1. His Excellency Pan Sorasak, Minister of Ministry of Commerce

2. Her Excellency, Lok Chum Teav, Tekreth Kamrang, Secretary of State 

3. Her Excellency Cham Nimul, Secretary of State

4. His Excellency Sim Sokheng, Secretary of State

5. His Excellency Pha Engveng, Deputy Director General, General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia

6. Mr. Then Samvisoth, Director General of Cambodia Post

7. His Excellency, Okhna Keo Mom, President of Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association

8. Ms. Marianne Dumont, ASYCUDA Programme Coordinator for Asia, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

9. Mr. Philippe Isler, Director of Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation

10. Mr. Rajiv Pradhan, Country Director Swisscontact

11. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

 

On behalf of Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association (or CWEA), I am very pleased to represent our association at this very meaningful and important event.  I am very honored that CWEA is a part of this national project together with other implementing partners. As part of the project partners, it is with great privilege for me to be able to welcome everyone who joined the official launching of the SeT4SME Project, under the new initiative of the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) and directly implemented by Swisscontact, that will further contribute to furthering the government effort in making cross-border trade in small packages easier, quicker, and more cost-effective. This is definitely good for Cambodia’s SME who are more and more engaged in cross-border e-commerce and send an increasingly volumes of their parcel internationally.

Having defined that MSMEs have 65% are owned by women and 90% of the whole SME are run and managed by women, CWEA had recently developed its own Strategic Plan for more inclusive approach aiming to have a National Impact.  This includes partnering with Swisscontact under the Alliance-funded project to establish a new online portal that serves as an e-trade ‘one-stop’ service point for MSMEs to ship goods internationally and upscale their export capabilities. These support use synergies and make complementarity to various other projects we are currently carrying out with other development partners, including CBI, TFO Canada, Khmer Enterprise, among others. We highly hope the new project will contribute to addressing the paint points identified as to promoting the exports by Cambodia’s SMEs and Women-owned Enterprises.

For example, CWEA had conducted our provincial forums at 11 provinces last year and the among the dominant issues or challenges identified to have faced by SMEs include (1) Market Access (local, regional and International) and its whole value chain such as electronic payments, e-transport, low cost efficient logistic cross border system for small packages, Product Development Support, Trade fair support (e-trade and or face to face), attaining product standards, meeting correct packaging  requirements, e-commerce, documentation preparation and procedures, and also buyer communication and other workshops to enhance the capacity of the women entrepreneur to serve the market in good service.  (2) limited capacity to adopt the ICT and transform business to be able to benefit from the uptrend of digital economy. 

Analyzing the issues, on what we have, and what we can do, that in business whether it is in a form of product and or services, they will need transport and logistic support. If the new norms are all via electronic, we should follow the trend as the world is changing fast due to many factors and we should be quick enough to follow the changes and the technology that goes with it, before we are left out.

Having this said, the need for facilitating e-logistic trade is very essential specially on small packages approach to support the small local entrepreneurs.   The ongoing trends in different countries where DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) are more convenient for local and cross border trade transactions, and much appreciated by the consumer for convenience, efficiency and lower cost.

Under the SeT4SME Project, CWEA join in establishing a new online portal that serves as an e-trade ‘one-stop’ service point for MSMEs and Women-owned Businesses to ship goods internationally and upscale their export capabilities. By doing this, we aim to exercise our leading role in enabling more women to do business effectively and contribute to women's empowerment through trade.

For greater impacts in this regards, other aspects of enabling environment need to happen in parallel. For example the support in making the e-commerce law be more inclusive and considerate on the capacity of the small players is essential, protecting not only the consumers but equally supporting to protect also the suppliers / sellers, making it an enabling law and friendly for emerging entrepreneurs and not threatening.

I would like to conclude by expressing once again that CWEA is sincerely very appreciative of the support from the Global Alliance for e-Trade Facilitation through Swisscontact in Cambodia. It is with great honor to get support for a “cross-border e-commerce and e-logistics service" platform as a result of the Alliance’s gender sensitive approach that will offer an enabling environment for small players to do business like other countries are doing. We are excited for our MSMEs to take full advantage of an improved customs and related processes of postal shipments for small package exports. So, If other countries can do it, why don’t we?”

 

Okhna Keo Mom

President

Cambodia Women Entrepreneurs Association