The young Cambodian startup ecosystem is hindered by limited skillsets, regulatory challenges, and limited funding, which led to the 2020 collapse of the scholarship mentorship startup Sers Chborng. Armed with advanced training from the Fulbright Program at Temple University, the co-founder is now restructuring the venture for a strategic comeback within Cambodia’s growing digital economy.

1. Entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems

Startup and innovation ecosystems in Cambodia are growing rapidly, yet it is still very young. According to a study by Khieng, Mason, and Lim (2021), universities play a very important role in boosting local entrepreneurial ecosystems; however, given the current resources and capabilities, universities are very far behind the modern status quo to provide what is needed in society. These authors also added that Cambodia cannot fully optimize its entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems mainly due to poor policies and knowledge gaps (Khieng, Mason & Lim, 2021). In addition, Kimchhoy, Visethvathanak, Lihol, and Rylida (2022) identified some key internal and external challenges faced by startups, innovators, and entrepreneurial support organizations that are worth noticing; these include but are not limited to the lack of support, funds, and technical skills. For that reason, they come up with some key recommendations to advance and achieve robust, as well as vibrant ecosystems, such as making regular startup competitions, offering support to startups regarding their finances, and connecting them with a network of helpful and experienced people to grow their business, and so forth (Kimchhoy, Visethvathanak, Lihol & Rylida 2022). With that in mind, the government and private sectors have worked so hard to intervene in this atmosphere in order to improve the situation by introducing more initiatives, offering funds, and providing greater access to talent and mentorships (Tharum, 2022). A research study from Asia Development Bank on Cambodia’s ecosystem for technology startups also aligns with all studies mentioned above; they, moreover, have an important giveaway, and that is to encourage a culture of entrepreneurship and risk-taking in Cambodia’s startup and innovation ecosystems as they believe that this approach would accelerate the development and growth of new venture creations and supports (Ek & Vandenberg, 2021).

2. Why do many startups fail?

2.1 The team

For startups, it requires immense efforts alongside a lot of factors to be successful. On that note, not many of them are able to fulfill what it takes to become one. The most obvious problem revolves around the quality of the team. Thus, founders or initiators often question the skills and dedication of members. A survey on this topic has been conducted, and 40% of startups in Cambodia acknowledge that they have a hard time finding members who have the skills needed to take on entrepreneurial journeys and execute their business ideas to the next step (Sokunthea, 2021). In this sense, no matter how solid the business plan is or how huge the market is, if the startup does not have a good team, it is deemed to eventually fail one day (Sokunthea, 2021).

2.2 The funds

Another root cause of the failure of startups has to do with the founders themselves, funds, and investors. Since many of the founders are first-timers, they lack essential experience and knowledge in management, finance, and business regulations, so they tend to commit a lot of mistakes. As a matter of fact, a post written by Motte (2023) clearly shows that tech startups and young entrepreneurs do not properly provide financial reports; their incompetence demotivates investors to take on risks with them. Simultaneously, not many startups that use their own money will be sustainably fruitful in the end either. Therefore, without investment funds, startups cannot survive for long.

2.3 The government

Last but not least, with a very promising entrepreneurial and innovation landscape, Cambodia can be the next big thing for startup ecosystems and investors. However, many complain about the transparency and regulations in the markets (Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, n.d). These setbacks make both local and foreign investors reluctant to offer support to startups, and at the same time, startups are discouraged to register their businesses. These reasons altogether create inherent difficulties and unhealthy ecosystems for investors to help startups. Hence, many innovators and entrepreneurs cannot thrive.

3. សិស្សច្បង ~ Sers Chborng Startup

3.1 The start

The term Sers Chborng retrieves from the actual word in Khmer, the Cambodian language, which is “សិស្សច្បង” and in English, it means “Mentor”. This startup was founded by a group of Cambodian students in 2019, and to have a clearer picture of this business idea, it is vital to understand the context first. In Cambodia, winning scholarships to study abroad is a very important milestone, especially for those who cannot afford the expenses of tuition fees and living overseas. However, securing one is not an easy task because there are many potential candidates out there. While some may have very strong backgrounds, they may not be able to articulate them in application forms or interviews. As a result, they have failed the scholarship many times, and of course, I am one of them. For that reason, I, as a co-founder, alongside my teammates wanted to provide mentorship support for high school and undergraduate students when they are planning to apply for scholarships, exchange programs, and any competitions for grants. My team joined SmartStart Young Innovator Program Circle 3 and got the investment fund to operate this business.

3.2 The end of the beginning

After running it for a year, there were a lot of challenges for us. The main obstacle is that we barely generated revenue because there were not many registrations from mentees. On top of that, among our team, there was no one who specialized in marketing. I myself believe that this lack of skill was a part of the reason why we could not spread out our services to a lot of students. This demotivated the members a lot. Later on, since most of them no longer shared the same passion and vision, this startup, as a result, was dismissed in 2020.

3.3 The ongoing comeback

Provided the nature of the innovation environment in Cambodia, I, with knowledge of computer science, want to make an impact on it. I see a lot of opportunities in this country that is now deepening and embarking on the digital economy, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the fourth industrialization. With that in mind, I take the chance to make a comeback to this startup through all possible techniques. Therefore, I have been trying to seek a scholarship program myself to continue higher education abroad in business in order to help make my startup alive. Fortunately, I have managed to secure the Fulbright Foreign Student Program to study Master of Science in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania of the United States. With the lessons and knowledge I gain from this professional academic institution, I am working on depicting the values that my startup provides and building a system for it. To see if this ongoing comeback will work out the way I want, I have to find out by putting in my maximum effort and giving it another try.

Reference

Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs. (n.d.). Custom Report Excerpts: Cambodia, China, Greece, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam [Report]. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved April 25, 2023, from https://www.state.gov/report/custom/87fe8c8298/

Ek, S., & Vandenberg, P. (2021). Cambodia’s Ecosystem for Technology Startups. Retrieved from https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/804931/cambodia-ecosystem-technology-startups.pdf

Khieng, S., Mason, S., & Lim, S. (2021). Towards a Vibrant and Sustainable Startup Ecosystem in Cambodia. CDRI Working Paper Series No. 118E. Centre for Development Research in Cambodia. Retrieved from https://cdri.org.kh/storage/pdf/wp118e_1617248421.pdf

Kimchhoy, P., Visethvathanak, S., Lihol, S., & Rylida, V. (2022). Tech Startup Ecosystem in Cambodia 2022: Challenges & Opportunities. Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Motte, T. (2023, March 9). A Peak into Cambodia’s Startup Ecosystem. Realistic Optimist. Retrieved from https://www.realisticoptimist.io/p/a-peak-into-cambodias-startup-ecosystem

Sokunthea, S. (2021, October 1). Teamwork is Critical to Startup Success. Cambodianess. Retrieved from https://cambodianess.com/article/teamwork-is-critical-to-startup-success

Tharum, B. (2022, March 14). Race to Grow Startup Ecosystem and Founders in Cambodia. Retrieved from https://kiripost.com/stories/race-to-grow-startup-ecosystem-and-founders-in-cambodia