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The second edition of the annual Cambodia Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Strengthening Conference (CAMESCO23) was conducted recently on 08 December 2023. This annual event was jointly organized by Khmer Enterprise (KE) and Swisscontact, and co-funded by Khmer Enterprise (KE), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The event was well attended by 182 ecosystem actors from approximately 112 institutions.
This annual event was founded in 2022 to create a network of like-minded stakeholders dedicated to enhancing Cambodia's entrepreneurship and investment ecosystem, bringing together local, regional, and international participants within the entrepreneurial development community.
CAMESCO23 aimed to enhance Cambodia's entrepreneurial ecosystem by a) summarizing the year's initiatives, including the progress of the nine Give A Days and the 5-year Cambodian entrepreneurial ecosystem roadmap; b) providing information on the Gender Lens Investing initiatives, showcasing regional and global initiatives; c) introducing the blended financing instrument and creating a fertile ground for investment. It catered to various stakeholders, providing resources and opportunities for collaboration. Additionally, it offered insights into Cambodia's entrepreneurial landscape from Khmer Enterprises, as the mandated Government platform and fostered connections. The findings from a Gender Lens Investing study was presented during CAMESCO23, the results of which will feed into the Cambodian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Roadmap (2024-2028) to be finalized in 2024.
CAMESCO23's program included notable presentations, such as insights on global accelerator effectiveness and best practices, experiences of building ecosystem in the Philippines, insights into gender lens investing, and an exploration of trends, challenges, and opportunities of blended finance in the ASEAN region.
Additionally, the conference featured two-panel discussions on critical topics. The first panel, "Using Blended Financial Instruments for SMEs," delved into innovative methods to mobilize private capital for entrepreneurs, including grant and concessional financing, focusing on developing the investment pipeline. The second panel, "Developing Promising Pipelines," engaged in a discussion about creating strong and sustainable investment pipelines within Cambodia's entrepreneurial ecosystem. These presentations and panel discussions have provided valuable insights and solutions to drive entrepreneurship and investment in Cambodia. CAMESCO23 also witnessed the announcing of the Impact Investment Exchange’s $ 100 million Women’s Livelihood Bond (WBL6), within the Orange Bond Initiative, with $ 10 million allocated for Cambodia during the closing remarks.
In conjunction with the main conference, CAMESCO23 also hosted two impactful side workshops on December 7. The first, "Demystifying Blended Finance," co-organized with Convergence, aimed to define blended finance structures, share market trends and examples, and foster discussions on effective blended finance in Cambodia. This workshop was presented by Mr. Ritesh Thakkar, Senior Advisor in Asia Pacific Region, Convergence. The second workshop, "Understanding the Accelerator Model," co-organized with ANDE, presented on differentiation between accelerator and incubator models, shared best practices for effective accelerator programs, and provided insights and tools for measuring program impact. This was presented by Abigayle Davidson, Director of Research & Impact at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs and leader of the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI).
The CAMESCO conference and the workshops served as a platform for addressing challenges and exploring opportunities to build Cambodia's robust entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem.
CAMESCO has become an annual platform for local, regional, and international stakeholders to meet, share insights, wrap up current programs, and explore opportunities to collaborate further, contributing to the growth of entrepreneurship in Cambodia and in supporting Cambodia's journey towards building a thriving entrepreneurial and investment ecosystem. CAMESCO23 was sponsored by ADB Frontier, ABA bank, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, SPEC (Small Package Export Champions) program of the SeT4SME project and supported by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), Global Steering Group for Impact Investment (GSG) and Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).
The following media covered the event: