The EiR programme, part of the Strengthen Entrepreneurship and Innovation Pillar under the Enhancing Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Investments (3Ei) initiative, connects regional and international practitioners with local ecosystem actors to deepen technical expertise and strengthen entrepreneurial capacity across Cambodia.
Mr. Dennis Kibirev is a growth executive and venture builder with over 20 years of global go-to-market and a decade of leadership experience at funded startups, scale-ups, and multinationals. Previously an Executive in Residence for the Swiss government’s startup ecosystem building programmes in Vietnam and Eastern Europe, he is an award-winning mentor who has coached more than 400 founders from six continents, including for the world’s leading Venture Capital (VC). He has advised government innovation programmes across Europe, Africa, and Asia/APAC, as well as accelerators, venture funds, and business schools internationally, including San Francisco State University. Dennis is also a speaker at startup-related events and was in the top 1% of 25,000+ mentors shortlisted for the Founder Institute ‘Global Startup Mentor of the Year’ awards.
On 18 May 2026, Mr. Dennis Kibirev’s EiR mission commenced with the full day workshop on “Accelerating Time to Market”, hosted under 3Ei initiative. The workshop supported startups and SMEs in strengthening go-to-market execution by addressing common bottlenecks in launching products and services, building clear value propositions and target customer profiles, optimising sales and distribution channels, and using market insights and performance data to inform decision making. The workshop was attended by 37 startups and SMEs.
Post workshop survey feedback highlighted the value of practical marketing strategies, channel selection tools, AI enabled approaches, and structured analytical templates. Participants reported improved understanding of time to market strategies and indicated that the training would likely support stronger execution and business performance.
On 19 May 2026, Mr. Dennis Kibirev facilitated a half day workshop on “Building Ventures for Regional and Global Markets” at Smart Startup Space, in collaboration with Smart Axiata. The session focused on assessing readiness for international expansion, navigating market entry strategies, understanding localisation and standardisation considerations, and addressing regulatory and compliance requirements. The workshop was attended by 19 startups and SMEs who also explored opportunities and risks associated with entering regional and global markets, including product market fit beyond domestic contexts, market selection criteria, and partnership models. Post workshop feedback highlighted the relevance of practical readiness assessment tools and structured approaches to international growth.
The afternoon continued with one-to-one mentoring sessions under Smart support programmes. These sessions provided tailored guidance that reinforced workshop learning by addressing individual business challenges and priorities. Two startups received one-to-one mentoring sessions.
On 20 May 2026, Mr. Dennis Kibirev conducted additional one-to-one mentoring sessions with selected startups. These engagements focused on refining go to market strategies, identifying growth bottlenecks, and strengthening execution based on each venture’s stage and constraints. A total of three startups were supported through these mentoring sessions.
In the afternoon, he delivered a workshop on “Business and Growth Modelling” at Techo Startup Center (TSC), co-hosted by 3Ei and TSC. The session introduced practical frameworks to design scalable business models, strengthen understanding of key metrics such as customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and payback periods, and support financial modelling for long term growth and profitability. The workshop was attended by 20 startups and SMEs and worked through structured tools to better understand unit economics, growth planning, and financial projections. Feedback highlighted the usefulness of financial model templates, growth budgeting approaches, and clearer understanding of business model performance and sustainability.
On 21 May 2026, Mr. Dennis Kibirev continued one-to-one mentoring sessions with startups under the Digital Platform Accelerator (DPA) Programme and with selected startups at Swisscontact. These sessions provided further support in clarifying operational challenges, prioritising business decisions, and applying practical growth tools to current business needs. Six startups participated in these mentoring sessions.
On 22 May 2026, Mr. Dennis Kibirev facilitated one-to-one mentoring sessions for startups under the ACT Smart Incubation Programme and DPA Programme. These engagements focused on strengthening execution priorities, addressing growth constraints, and translating learning into actionable next steps. Four startups participated in these mentoring sessions.
Mr. Dennis Kibirev’s EiR mission contributed practical frameworks across go-to-market execution, regional and global expansion, business and growth modelling, and scaling readiness. Delivered through a combination of structured workshops and tailored mentoring engagements, the mission supported startups and SMEs in strengthening both strategic thinking and operational execution. Post workshop and mentoring feedback reinforces this impact, with participants highlighting the value of actionable tools, financial modelling approaches, market entry frameworks, and AI enabled solutions. Women entrepreneurs and representatives of women led businesses also reported increased confidence in making business and economic decisions, reflecting strengthened capability and empowerment as a direct outcome of the engagement.
The Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EiR) Programme is part of the Strengthen Entrepreneurship and Innovation initiative under the Enhancing Entrepreneurial Ecosystem and Investments (3Ei) Project. It is funded by Khmer Enterprise (KE), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and co-implemented by Khmer Enterprise (KE) and Swisscontact.