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Building on the momentum of the 20th Give a Day, held on February 1st, 2024, under the theme “Navigating Impact Management and Transparency to Achieve the SDGs: Learning from Global Markets,” Give a Day 24 took a deep dive into Cambodia's impact investing landscape with an aim to provide insights into the current state of Cambodia's impact investing ecosystem and gather feedback from key stakeholders.
The event successfully brought together key players from Cambodia's impact investment and entrepreneurial ecosystem to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and future of impact investing in the country.
A key highlight was the panel discussion on Cambodia’s Impact Investing Ecosystem, featuring prominent voices in the field, such as Mrs. Vuthy Chea, Regional Director, Incofin. Mrs. Cecile Dahome, Executive Director, Sevea Consulting and Country Coordinator of Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN). Ms. Laura Alsenas, Executive Director, Nexus for Development and Parth Borkotoky, Founder of Azaylla with Ms. Ratana Phurik-Callebaut moderating.
The discussion emphasized Cambodia’s potential to become a hub for impact investment, particularly in sectors such as financial inclusion, sustainable agriculture, and safe drinking water. One panelist noted that a major barrier to growing the impact investment ecosystem is the cost associated with measuring impact. "Businesses want to do good, but without proper tools to measure impact, it’s difficult for them to demonstrate their contributions to social and environmental goals, which is critical for attracting impact investors," they explained. Despite the financial challenges, the panelist stressed that making this commitment builds credibility and trust with investors.
The panelists also addressed challenges specific to Cambodia, highlighting the need for a cohesive framework to support investments in areas such as gender lens investing (GLI) and climate finance.
Additionally, the panel highlighted that many Cambodian companies lack the knowledge and resources to collect the data needed for impact measurement. One panelist called for better education and tools to help entrepreneurs understand how to effectively measure and demonstrate their impact. Another panelist echoed these sentiments, emphasizing that international impact investors bring not only capital but also networks and expertise in ESG integration. They expressed optimism that, with the right support, Cambodia could become a key player in Southeast Asia’s impact investment landscape.
This was followed by a group discussion that explored strategies for enhancing collaboration within the ecosystem and building a thriving impact investing environment in Cambodia.
As impact investing continues to grow globally, the insights and strategies generated at Give a Day 24 have positioned Cambodia to harness the potential of this transformative approach, driving both social and environmental progress alongside financial returns.
The Give a Day event is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and Khmer Enterprise and co-implemented by Khmer Enterprise and Swisscontact through the Enhancing Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Investments (3Ei) initiative.
The event was covered by the following media: